Super Joao EP - Dirty Projectors: Review
is the long running indie project of David Longstreth. Over the years numerous musicians and vocalists have filled in roles for the band and Super Joao is the third of 5 EP's the band plans to release this year each focusing on a different vocalist.
Review By Lavender:
I have loved Dirty Projectors for as long as I can remember which was pretty clearly evidenced by my very positive reviews of their two EPs earlier this year. I was particularly excited for this release because long time frontman David Longstreth is the vocalist for these tracks. I have always enjoyed his vocals quite a bit and more than ever before on the past two full length Dirty Projectors records. But now that the EP is out it is by far the weakest of the trio from a songwriting and instrumental perspective.
The lead single Holy Mackerel forecasted this as a sift and off kilter indie tune that I didn't love at first and has slightly grown on me. I think David's singing is as captivating as ever but the songwriting is strangely vapid at times and the very lowkey instrumental doesn't have much flow to it at all. It's definitely the weakest single from all the EP's so far. The best track of the bunch is the closer Moon, If Ever which mirrors some of the sweetest moments from the bands other recent releases. The only complaint I have about the track is that it ends out of nowhere, aside from that it has some of the catchiest refrains and best vocals on the project.
I Get Carried Away is a similarly idiosyncratic track with strangely plucked guitars and verse that flip on and off in really arbitrary points. The song certainly keeps me on my toes but it doesn't really add up to a great song at just 2 minutes. You Create Yourself is definitely the weakest song of the bunch simply because it's hard to make out the rich nuances in David's performance that make him such a great vocalist in the first place. The recording style and the mixing team up to really muffle him and he only get the chance to shine at a few points on the song. With sparsely placed instrumentation surrounding this there just isn't much here I enjoy.
Super Joao isn't nearly the EP that it's two predecessors were which is disappointing particularly given it may be a while before we hear more songs with David primarily on vocals. Despite these tracks I am still pretty excited for what the band will do next and if they will get two more good EP's out before the end of the year then it will be easy to gloss over this as just a footnote in a set of great releases. 5/10
Album Cover Review by Tyler Judson:
I really like this series of covers. The frame in a frame composition makes your eyes move through the image smoothly and puts emphasis on the picture inside the cover as the real subject instead of focusing directly on the other subject. The emptiness surrounding the center is nice breathing room for the minimal image. 6/10
For more indie check out my review of Bright Eyes, Down In The Woods here
