Lyrics of the Week: Dirty Projectors

“There was a single one
Then there were ten
With ten made a hundred
And a hundred million

You came and spoke to me
I saw your face
Your words were like raindrops
From a storm in a vase

Each generation different

He was made to love her 
She was made to love him
And their offspring loved them

And in the marriage of eagle and snake
The parents are fertile
But their offspring is blank

The fire rages and all through the night
The flame is contagious
But the heat feels alright

Can’t recognize our poverty

He was made to love her
She was made to love him
And their offspring loved them

There is a darkness I feel coming down
And shadows that lengthen from the sky to the ground

And a silence that can swallow sound

He was made to love her
She was made to love him
And their offspring loved them

He was made to love her
She was made to love him
And their offspring loved both of them”

- Dirty Projectors, “Offspring Are Blank”

Dirty Projectors have long been the object of indie affection, and this love affair will undoubtedly continue with the release of their excellent Swing Lo Magellan LP last week. The Brooklyn band creates compositions that are innately easy on the ears and can immediately be appreciated and enjoyed. Though the music possesses subtleties and complexities that ultimately add a weight and staying power to the art, the listener need not spend repeated listens and expend an overwhelming amount of patience in order to fully appreciate and “understand” the record. Some self-important types may knock this level of accessibility, but this means next to nothing for the throngs of fans that Dirty Projectors have amassed over the course of their six albums. Swing Lo Magellan, in fact, may be the group’s most infectious release to date, for each track sounds as if it could stand alone as a successful single. Contrary to what some music critics may imply, it is incredibly difficult to create music this catchy and appealing, and to do it with the consistency that Dirty Projectors have shown throughout their career. “Offspring Are Blank” is the opener on Magellan, and examines the relationship and contrast between generations, and of parents and their offspring.