Deradoorian
The Expanding Flower Planet
ANTICON
7/10
Six years have passed since the melodically lithe singer and bassist Angel Deradoorian last played with Dirty Projectors. Whereas the New York band ’s 2009 LP Bitte Orca skirted the edges of more exploratory genres outside of indie rock, Deradoorian’s first solo album The Expanding Flower Planet dives headfirst into baroque pop and eclectic jazzy zone-outs with great relish. Deradoorian’s wild antiphonies can still melt the room down. Lead single “A Beautiful Woman” typifies the album’s trance-like qualities well with a hypnotic bass line and whimsical wind instruments beckoning the listener forward into this alien world. Deradoorian also jams out when necessary. “The Invisible Man” and “The Eye” are pulsing with the kind of brazen energy heard in some of Dirty Projectors’ best tracks. Deradoorian’s incredible vocal acrobatics and astute editing aid the overall production of the album. The Expanding Flower Planet is a sun-dappled, cosmic exploration of moods that succeeds, not in spite of, but partially because of its obfuscated nature.
