Dirty Projectors @ Cabaret Voltaire

Dave Longstreth is nothing if not obscure. A Yale dropout with a history of dazzling sonic conceptualisations to his name, Dirty Projectors' 2007 release, Rise Above, was a stirring reprisal of its awkward honcho's favourite Black Flag LP Damaged. Littered with wiggling melodies and three-part harmonies, its challenging rhythmic twirls corroded the grey matter of hypnotised listeners and scuffled almost unnoticed on to many a critic's end of year hitlist. Live, the band encapsulate the record's intricate components with remarkable ease, adding to it a depth that fingers the African spindling of Peter Gabriel and slivers across the rarely chartered canyon of avant-garde jazz. Such labyrinthic arrangements can, of course, mystify at times, but so resolute is Longstreth's dedication to his art that it's difficult not to be swept away by the sea of on-stage aural mastery. Obscure? No doubt. Breathtaking? Absolutely. [Billy Hamilton]