Street's Weekend Pick: Dirty Projectors

If you've ever dreamed of abandoning your Ivy League education for a shot at indie rock stardom, then David Longstreth may be your hero. A Yale dropout, Longstreth has been recording music under the moniker Dirty Projectors since his undergraduate days in 2003 and currently performs with a band composed of three others.

Asked about the origins of the name Dirty Projectors, Longstreth explains that it represents "baroque creative confusion as a life force." Though that may seem a highfalutin' response - you can take the boy out of Yale, but you can't take the Yale out of the boy - it grasps at Dirty Projectors' weird musical ambition. Classical strings mix with reggae beats, woodwind ensembles, electric guitars and harmonized choirs, representing a long and diverse list of influences, ranging from Prince to Soundgarden. Add to this Longstreth's distinctive bleating voice, which has been likened to both Bob Dylan and Andre 3000, and you arrive at an oddly electrifying sound.

Evolving from an accompanied one-man band to a genuine rock quartet, Dirty Projectors have become more rhythmic and accessible lately. Their most recent album, 2007's "Rise Above," is a track-by-track reimagining of "Damaged" by '80s punk band Black Flag. But while the lyrics may be the same, sonically, "Rise Above" shares almost nothing with its hardcore muse. In fact, the allusion only seems relevant in its demonstration of the Dirty Projectors' name - that is, the dirty, or rather distorted, projection of an idea in a new context.

Longstreth is indeed big on ideas, but this conceptualism does not detract from the band's sense of fun. The Dirty Projectors' collaboration with David Byrne on the just-released "Dark Was the Night" compilation is a delightful, danceable tune that may signify a new, more poppy direction. Having recently signed with Domino Records, Dirty Projectors is set to release a much-anticipated album this April. But you don't have to wait to check them out. They'll be playing at Terrace Club this weekend, where you can dance, sing along and indulge in your best student-cum-rocker fantasies.

Terrace Club

Feb. 26, midnight