Concrete Playground

Dirty Projectors, and front-man Dave Longstreth's pre-DP projects, initially copped more than their fair share of flack for being too intellectually obfuscative (read pretentious).

Their fourth album Bitte Orca seems to have soothed the critics and it's pretty easy to see why. Dirty Projectors happen to be particularly good at what they do and in Bitte Orca they've made it all a little more likeable without giving up on complexity. Their slightly off-kilter arrangements and the occasionally choral-like vocals of Longstreth, Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian and Haley Dekle make for a remarkable sound. With Bjork, David Byrne and The Roots among their fans, they've well and truly won the 'darling' tag.

By all accounts Dirty Projectors' live shows are an experience and they'll be in Sydney in March for their inaugural Australian tour.

By Bree Pickering