Weekly Music Roundup: Childish Gambino and Red Baraat

Week of May 7: This week, the lighter side of Dirty Projectors, Childish Gambino’s dark view of America, and Red Baraat’s color-coded dance music.

Dirty Projectors’ New Single Is For The Birds

Singer/composer David Longstreth is preparing to release the next album by his band Dirty Projectors, called Lamp-Lit Prose, and the first single, “Break-Thru,” is out now. The sound is trademark Dirty Projectors – a kind of fractured, world-music-inflected art/funk powered by Longstreth’s flexible vocals and (lefty, upside-down) guitar playing. But where many of the band’s songs have been obscure or darkly-colored, “Break-Thru” is sunny, and pretty straightforward about its good mood. That extends to the video, which features Longstreth in the company of an increasingly large, and increasingly improbable, group of birds – several of whom seem to be enjoying the song as much as he is. 

Lamp-Lit Prose comes out on July 13. 

Childish Gambino’s Disturbing View of America

Saturday was a big day for Donald Glover, the actor and comedian who doubles as the rapper and songwriter Childish Gambino. That night, he hosted Saturday Night Live (as Donald Glover) and performed as the musical guest (as Childish Gambino). After the show, he unveiled the video for his new song “This Is America,” which tackles both racism and gun violence. This ambitious, deeply provocative work juxtaposes uplifting communal tropes of the black American experience – the school dancers, the gospel choir – with startling images of killing and rioting. Similarly, we hear friendly singalong vocals giving way to harsh rapping. It’s deliberately unsettling, but the song is also engaging and catchy, with eccentric Southern rapper Young Thug and others contributing verses. The singer SZA makes a brief cameo in the video as well, and the final shot, of Glover running in a darkened hallway, seems to be an allusion to Jordan Peele’s film Get Out – another creative work that offers an uncomfortable mix of humor, violence, and racism. 

Red Baraat: Dance Music From Punjab Via Brooklyn

The band Red Baraat, led by drummer and composer Sunny Jain, has spent the past decade perfecting its irrepressible blend of Punjabi wedding music, Western dance music, and rock energy.  Their next album, Sound The People, comes out on June 29 but the band has just released its first single, called “Kala Mukhra.”  The album title hints at what the band is about – not just celebrating South Asian culture, but asking people to be engaged in what is happening socially and politically.  The choice of the first single is emblematic of that theme: “Kala Mukhra” is based on a Punjabi folk song called “Ghora Mukhra,” which means “white face.”  Jain writes that “there's a fetishization in South Asian culture about being fair-skinned or light-skinned, something that is pressed upon women.” Seeking something a little more progressive, he worked with singer and lyricist Ali Sethi to come up with a new version of the song, and “Kala” (black) replaces “Ghora” (white) in the title.  Of course, you don’t need to know a word of Punjabi to understand the music’s main message: get up and dance. 

Red Baraat plays at Flushing Town Hall on June 8. 

Tanya Tagaq and Damian Abraham Cover Iron Maiden

The Inuk/Canadian singer Tanya Tagaq has spent her career railing against patriarchy, sexual abuse of women and children – especially in First Nation communities like hers, and environmental abuse.  Using an array of vocal techniques, including the so-called throat singing of the Inuit people, she has gained a reputation for her powerful, even intimidating, stage presence.  Now, she’s teamed up with Damian Abraham of the Canadian band Fucked Up, which, in case you hadn’t guessed, is a hardcore punk outfit.  The two of them have done a cover of Iron Maiden’s “Run To The Hills,” perhaps that English metal band’s best-known single.  The choice is an inspired one – with the verses being set in an ominous whisper, you can actually hear that the song is about the white suppression of Native American culture in the US.  This neatly sets up the “death growl”-inspired chorus, and when you hear Tagaq doing some traditional Inuit throat singing at the very end, it suggests that this centuries old style has much in common with metal’s more recent raspy vocal technique. 

Tanya Tagaq plays at Le Poisson Rouge on Friday, May 11.

Joseph Arthur + REM’s Peter Buck = Arthur Buck

Singer, songwriter and guitarist Joseph Arthur has teamed up with guitarist Peter Buck, of R.E.M., on a series of new songs under the name Arthur Buck.  While their album, otherwise untitled, doesn’t come out until June 15, the two rock veterans have begun releasing a few singles, including the new one called “Are You Electrified?”  The video sees the two guitarists wandering around Portland, Oregon, but the real draw is the song itself, with some beautifully layered voices in the chorus and the chiming of the two guitars imparting a classic 90s indie sound to a song that was only written a few months ago.  Although the collaboration is new, the two are old friends: Joseph Arthur’s peripatetic career saw him touring as the opening act for R.E.M. in their later years, and Peter Buck’s many post-R.E.M. projects have included backing Arthur on several occasions.  The two are apparently making plans for an Arthur Buck tour later this year.