There’s a scene in the addenda to Dave Eggers’s A Heartbreaking
Work of Staggering Genius in which the author, while kayaking, is
overwhelmed by the sight of a killer whale leaping, Free
Willy–style, out of the ocean in close proximity. That scene
is all I can think of when trying to describe the impossible ebullience
with which Dirty Projectors’ Dave Longstreth yelps the words “Bitte
orca!” halfway through the recent album of the same name, over an
avalanche of avant-Afropop guitar. The album is a revelatory
balancing act, as Longstreth’s confounding arrangements coalesce again
and again into irresistible melodies. (Neumos, 925 E Pike St,
709-9467. 8 pm, $15, 21+.)