Dirty Projectors announce 'Ring Road' EP, final installment of '5EPs' cycle, and share "Searching Spirit"

“We see Dirty Projectors change and surprise us with each new song, something so rare and vibrant” – NPR

“Music that’s built like a Picasso, assembled with a complex and peculiar vision of beauty...the most ambitious and earnest endeavor laid out by Dirty Projectors thus far” – Aquarium Drunkard

“A band entering a new chapter, one we’re really excited to follow along” – Uproxx

“Every member is talented enough to be the lead” – TIME 

“A beautiful, moving, simple pleasure that’s hard to resist” – Consequence of Sound

On November 20th, Dirty Projectors will conclude the cycle of EPs they first commenced in February 2020 with Ring Road, the fifth and final EP installment. In tandem, all songs from this chapter will be released as a full 20-song anthology titled 5EPs.

Until now, each previous EP showcased the voice of a different band member, backed by stylistically-shifting suites of music produced by Dave Longstreth: the existential folk of Windows Open sung by Maia Friedman, Felicia Douglass’s future soul on Flight Tower, Longstreth’s endless melody on Super João, and the recomposed orchestral glitch of Earth Crisis with Kristin Slipp.

Ring Road presents Dirty Projectors’ dynamic, full-band sound, weaving the emotional and sonic threads of the previous four EPs into a whole with dual guitars, vocal interplay, and ear-catching refrains. Friedman, Douglass, Slipp and Longstreth trade verses and harmonies; drummer Mike Johnson drives propulsive arrangements.

Watch the music video for “Searching Spirit,” directed by Noel Paul, below.

Throughout the 5EPs cycle, Dirty Projectors have appeared on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts, NPR Weekend Edition, Adult Swim’s Fishcenter and more. They also released a stunning animated short film alongside Earth Crisis, premiered via Adult Swim and produced by Encyclopedia Pictura - watch it below.

5EPs will be available as a standard black double LP, with a clear version exclusive to indie stores, as well as a CD, and a deluxe box set of five 12" colored vinyl. Pre-order below.