Dirty Projectors – “Jumbotron”

In a previous incarnation of the band, Dave Longstreth's Dirty Projectors made what some are calling the 69th best indie rock album of all time. We last heard from the Dirty Projectors when they scored the 2025 movie The Legend Of Ochi. Now, they've signed with Joyful Noise — still indie! — and launched a new imprint called Well-Tempered Zealot. Today, they share a new single called "Jumbotron."

Right now, it appears that Dirty Projectors is a fully solo project for Dave Longstreth. Next year, he'll head out on a solo tour, where he'll play intimate venues entirely by himself. But Longstreth didn't record "Jumbotron" entirely by himself. Instead, the track features Grizzly Bear's Chris Bear on drums, the Jeff Parker Trio's Karl McComas-Reichl on upright bass, and horns from six LA session musicians. Longstreth sings and plays piano on the song, and it's got a wandering, jazzy sensibility. We'll have to see whether this sedate crooner version of Longstreth is a one-off or whether we're about to get a new Dirty Projectors record in this vein, but I think it sounds pretty nice.

In a press release, Longstreth says, "I was thinking about the big screen and the small screen. The big tent and the kind of tent you can make in the living room with a couple couch cushions and a blanket or two. Life and entertainment; attention and volume; focus and detail; quality and value. Listen to the song!" You can do that and check out Longstreth's tour dates below.

"Jumbotron" is out now on Well-Tempered Zealot/Joyful Noise.