Dirty Projectors, Nat Baldwin, Ecstatic Sunshine, Hymns April 21, 2006

FRIDAY APRIL 21
@ Hampshire College
Music & Dance Building, Main Recital Hall
9pm doors, FREE ADMISSION!

DIRTY PROJECTORS
NAT BALDWIN
ECSTATIC SUNSHINE
HYMNS

** This show has been moved from the Prescott Tavern.

[DIRTY PROJECTORS]
"Where Dirty Projectors' previous albums featured drifting song structures, [2005 LP] 'Getty Address' tosses verse-chorus-verse out the window and relies on stuttering, repeated musical themes. Longstreth indulges the classical influences he first explored on last year's 'Slaves' Graves and Ballads,' but the instrumentation (strings, woodwinds, a female choir) is sampled musique concrete-style and infused with electronic R&B beats. This isn't just opera with a little thump for flavor, though-- Longstreth comes at modern R&B just as he does folk and classical, with a deep appreciation and an outsider's flair."
** http://www.westernvinyl.com/dirty_projectors.htm
** http://pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/d/dirty-projectors/getty-address.shtml
(Rated 8.2)

[NAT BALDWIN]
"It may be the norm to pour out your feelings over an acoustic guitar, but that's not enough for Nat Baldwin: He sings over a double-bass, which he plays with raw, lonely intensity. At its worst, that bass evokes the beast that every scrawny, neatly kempt one of us feels in our guts when our soon-to-be-ex refuses to answer the phone. 'Lights Out,' Baldwin's debut mini-album, feels like one desparate night alone, and if it were a minute longer it would be unbearable.

A member of Newburyport, Massachusetts' Tigersaw, Baldwin regularly performs solo, and although this record uses some overdubs, it sounds live and intimate. Baldwin's croon-- a pure, clear tone with a discomforting waver-- evokes Thom Yorke's anxiety or Andrew Bird's eerier solo performances, and the album's ambience reminds me of Nina Nastasia's gothic Americana: Like Nastasia, Baldwin turns in a chamber performance that butts against the void." Chris Dahlen
** http://myspace.com/natbaldwin
** http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/b/baldwin_nat/lights-out.shtml
(Rated 7.8)

[ECSTATIC SUNSHINE]
"Live, the Ecstatic Sunshine duo of Matt Papich and Dustin Wong are a blur of hands. The two lock horns, and sometimes heads, hammering down on one fast riff before breaking off to trace arc trails of bent notes through the air. Speed and intricacy have been electric guitar hallmarks since Les Paul switched on his first tape recorder, but Ecstatic Sunshine doesn't wank. As the name might suggest, there's a healthy dose of play at work, as rock-club volume adds a constant layer of carbonated low end and the high end flings off neon-bright zings." - Jess Harvell, Baltimore City Paper
** http://myspace.com/ecstaticsunshine

[HYMNS]
Holyoke folk pop! Did you miss them with Feathers and Daniel Higgs? Check them out this time!
** http://myspace.com/hymnshymns

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http://myspace.com/amccmc
http://wonka.hampshire.edu/~amc

Official Website: http://wonka.hampshire.edu/~amc