If You Had Looked

Dirty Projectors “Gun Has No Trigger”

David Longstreth’s compositions on previous Dirty Projectors releases, particularly on Bitte Orca and The Getty Address, were immediately dazzling things that shook the listener with unusual approaches to rhythm and harmony, so it’s understandable that some people would come to “Gun Has No Trigger” and feel a bit ho-hum about its low-key simplicity. Longstreth’s voice is the focal point of this composition, and his particular, somewhat peculiar phrasing and tone is so essential to the piece that the song might not even work with a different singer. Or it’d work much differently, anyway: The melody is very strong and dramatic, moving along through verses that rise with an accusing tone toward a climactic moment in which the lyrics reveal a contrasting anticlimax.