When we at TMT awarded the Dirty Projectors’ Bitte Orca the #2 spot on our illustrious “Favorite 50 Albums of 2009” list, the band was instantly catapulted into a Madonna-level realm of fame. As Zs — who earned the #1 spot in 2010 — are learning right now, the TMT prize brings with it endless swarms of camera-clicking paparazzi and rabid, autograph-hungry fans. We knew, however, that if we forced the band to “hit the mattresses,” DP bassist Nat Baldwin would finally get some time to work on a follow-up to 2008’s Most Valuable Player (TMT Review). It worked.
People Changes, out May 24 on Western Vinyl, features five new Baldwin compositions and two covers: Arthur Russell’s “A Little Lost” and Kurt Weisman’s “Let My Spirit Rise.” If the instrumentation is any sign — double bass, clarinet, violin, trumpet, alto saxophone, guitar, drums — People Changes might show Baldwin returning to his avant-garde jazz-coated roots: he’s a former student of first-generation Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) member Anthony Braxton. Either way, we’re glad we could help.
People Changes tracklisting:
01. A Little Lost
02. Weights
03. Real Fakes
04. The Same Thing
05. Lifted
06. What Is There
07. Let My Spirit Rise
Despite the album’s multiple collaborators — including saxophonist Matt Bauder and violinist Caley Monahon-Ward — Baldwin will lead up to the release date with a solo tour. You see, the killer whale-like stalker-fans TMT has created are still hungry for Dirty Projector blood, so Baldwin doesn’t want to put an ensemble at risk.
Nat Baldwin solo tour:
03.31.11 - Portland, ME - Apohadion Theater
04.02.11 - Winooski, VT - The Monkey House
04.03.11 - Palmer, MA - Diamond Junction Bowling Lanes
04.05.11 - Buffalo, NY - The Vault
04.06.11 - Toronto, ON - Double Double Land
04.07.11 - Ypsilanti, MI - Woodruff’s
04.08.11 - Gambier, OH - Kenyon College
04.09.11 - North Manchester, IN - the Firehouse
04.10.11 - Bloomington, IN - House Bar
04.11.11 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
04.15.11 - Minneapolis, MN - Mistory Theater
04.16.11 - Iowa City, IA - The Mill
04.18.11 - St. Louis, MO - LEMP
04.19.11 - Little Rock, AR - Dreamland Ballroom
04.20.11 - Dallas, TX - TBA
04.21.11 - Austin, TX - Club 1808
04.22.11 - Houston, TX - Avant Garden
04.23.11 - Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
04.24.11 - Lafayette, LA - Blue Moon
04.25.11 - New Orleans, LA - Mudlark Public Theater
04.27.11 - Tallahassee, FL - Charles Mansion
04.28.11 - Athens, GA - Farm255
04.29.11 - Columbia, SC - Beys
04.30.11 - Charlotte, NC - Evening Muse
05.01.11 - Greensboro, NC - The Green Bean
05.06.11 - Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church Chapel
05.07.11 - Brooklyn, NY - Zebulon
05.08.11 - Brooklyn, NY - Zebulon
05.09.11 - Hudson, NY - The Spotty Dog
05.11.11 - Boston, MA - Whitehaus
05.12.11 - Kittery, ME - Buoy Gallery
05.13.11 - Bar Harbor, ME - Lompoc
• Nat Baldwin: http://www.myspace.com/natbaldwin
• Western Vinyl: http://www.westernvinyl.com
