Album of the Year?: Bitte Orca

I'm totally jumping on the bandwagon with this one, but Dirty Projectors' Bitte Orca is the best album I've heard in a really long time. That's saying a lot, because some really great albums (Merriweather Post Pavillion, Veckatimest, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, et al.) have been released this year. Pretty indicative of just how good this one is.
Seriously, this album has everything. It takes unexpected twists and turns, has interesting songwriting, some stellar guitar playing, and some of the prettiest vocal harmonies you'll ever hear. They even threw in "Stillness is the Move," a track (this might be a stretch) that wouldn't be out of place on pop radio. With uplifting vocals and accessible lyrics, ya never know.
There's so much to hear on Bitte Orca. In fact, in terms of complexity, I'd put it right up there with Radiohead's OK Computer or Bjork's Homogenic, two of my favorite records ever. It's hard to listen to "Useful Chamber" and not think that it was inspired by "Paranoid Android." And the intertwining of electronic elements and soothing strings, well, that's Homogenic for ya.
On Bitte Orca, Dirty Projectors have created a work of art. It's more than just a bunch of songs-it's words and sounds thrown on a canvas. They deserve lots of love and recognition for creating something so wonderful.