Dirty Projectors, Polar Bear, Lucky Dragons

Curse our shoddy timekeeping. POD has gathered an unusually strong triple bill for tonight’s show, and Ragged Words foolishly arrives too late to catch Lucky Dragons (for which we’ll kick ourselves later when we listen to their myspace); however, we are lucky enough to catch Polar Bear. Being fans of bears of all kinds (Pandas and Grizzlies are particular favourites) we are already familiar with large mammalian bands presenting us with top-notch experimental music, and tonight proves no different. This UK five-piece play jazzy, mostly instrumental tunes, and boast a drummer with hair so ridiculously extravagant it can’t but be a distraction (group leader Seb Rochford), 2 saxophones, standup bass and a guitarist/electronicist who also plays a mean ballon. The dextrous, shuffly drumming complements the unusual arrangements, and the band’s powerful and adventurous compositions thoroughly win the crowd over.

They’re followed by Brooklyn five-piece The Dirty Projectors, who present a set of songs radically different from the one they played on their last visit to these shores less than a year ago, which augurs very well indeed for their forthcoming album Bitte Orca, due in June. The new songs are of a piece with the old, with Dave Longstreth’s distinctive voice and restless, scratchy guitar work at the centre, as the trio of female backing singers engage in incredibly intricate pass-the-parcel backing vocals. On first listen, however, they seem a little more accessible than before – less aggressive, less abrupt changes in time signature. The most noticeable examples of this are the two on which guitarist Amber Coffman assumes lead vocal duties, which incorporate mainstream Rn’B in a manner that calls to mind Britney had she been to art school, and on “Stillness is The Move” (live version here) we’re treated to the bizarre and wonderful sight of Coffman pouting and wagging her finger like a pop princess.

They round off their set with “Gimme Gimme Gimme” and “Thirsty and Miserable” from the preceding album “Rise Above”, and an encore leaves us eagerly awaiting the next one.