After hearing a few sound clips from The Getty Address, the latest installment from Yale drop-out and indie composer dude David Longstreth, I knew it would be an amazing record. Cowbell beats over Gregorian-like chants and Longstreth’s distinctive voice leading the charge – an obvious winner. It wasn’t the easy ascent into aural ecstasy, however, that I expected. In fact, after a few listens I found The Getty Address emotionally exhausting. Its sheer breadth, from epic choral and orchestral passages to fucked-up beats and bells, demanded simultaneous close listening and somewhat detached appreciation. What won me over? The fifth listen. I must be getting old; Gastr del Sol’s Upgrade and Afterlife never took that long.
The Getty Address has all the markings of a true classic. Although it hasn’t been getting its deserved attention, give it time to gestate in the ears of the nation’s listeners and word will spread. Guided by the story of a fictional character named Don Henley, the record follows the traveler from the top of a ridge, into a valley and onwards on a long, strange journey in which we meet an array of oddly placed characters, including Moctezuma and Warhol. If you have the time or energy to do so, there is plenty of material to decipher in The Getty Address. As it turns out, Longstreth’s lyrics, which in invoking loneliness, a journey and geographical features bring to mind his once tour-mate Phil Elvrum, are usually overshadowed my the music.
As Longstreth has discussed, orchestral elements have only been used on a superficial level during most of the history of rock music. On The Getty Address, the hallmarks of indierock are buried deep underneath a conglomerate of flute, oboe, clarinet, trombone, French horn and chorus. Recorded over a year with the Orchestral Society for the Preservation of the Orchestra, the effect is to transport the listener into a curious headspace. When Longstreth sings "They wear their leaves like Warholian wigs" on "Gilt Gold Scabs," the melody comes from a haunting, off-kilter world. Dirty Projectors also know how to kick out a jam, and on "Jolly Jolly Jolly Ego," tinkling bell beats, sustained chants and Longstreth’s soulful Prince-like renditions are perfectly patched together. Easily one of the records of the year.
