What becomes of the brokenhearted? Well, in the case of
David Longstreth
, they make some changes. Since the last time
Longstreth
made a
Dirty Projectors
album (2012's
Swing Lo Magellan
), his long-term relationship with
Amber Coffman
, who sang and played guitar with the group, ended. In time-honored fashion,
has made a break-up album, but 2017's
has a musical personality that's decidedly different than most of the group's work. While the mix of indie rock and world music flavors that defined much of
' releases is still present here, this album is dominated by electronics, especially the aggressive use of Auto-Tuned and sampled vocals. The first moments of opening track "Keep Your Name" feature
's vocals bent into a deep and doomy variant on his usual bright, airy instrument, and while the harmonies that are one of his stylistic trademarks are on hand, in this case they sound like
is singing with a digital ghost of himself rather than other people. With the voices often chopped and twisted as they square against deep bass patches and vintage synth sounds, while organic strings and horns bubble in the background,
abandons the organic tone
made so much of in the past, and trades it for a digital universe where nothing seems quite real, even when it's beautiful end engaging. The production is a superb match for the songs, which deal with the various aspects of a love affair that's flamed out, and
Tyondai Braxton
, of
Battles
, proves to be an excellent collaborator, helping
work out the melodies and make this album a fascinating, absorbing listen even at its most forbidding. The broken-hearted
sounds like a changed man in many respects, but he's no less talented and visionary than he was before, and
demonstrates that musically and lyrically, love and its absence have taught him a thing or two. ~ Mark Deming