Brooklyn-based indie-rock upstarts Dirty On Purpose come loaded with all sorts of swoon-y strings (kind of like The Arcade Fire) and vocal tics (a la Clap Your Hands Say Yeah). Less down and dirty than precious and pretty, the band's tunes mostly coast on spiky guitar lines, plunked-piano melodies, and pinched, plaintive voices as found amid the polished assortment on Hallelujah Sirens, its latest release.
Dirty on Purpose's penchant for stroking electric guitar strings with violin bows (used sparingly but effectively) has earned it comparisons to Sigur Ros, but this band is much more straightforward and terrestrial than the ethereal Icelanders. Instead, Dirty on Purpose sounds like it springs from the venerable East Coast sound that birthed the Talking Heads and Television.
So Hallelujah Sirens' songs are always tight and buttoned-down, a bit intellectual, but probably ready to party on the weekends. When they hit town, surfers, scenesters, and audiophiles of all genres should find something to cheer for in this band.
With a gritty sound and migrant mentality, these guys play rock music that's dirty enough to make a shower seem mandatory after watching them live.
Dirty on Purpose plays with the Helio Sequence and Besnard Lakes at Detroit Bar, 843 W. 19th St., Costa Mesa, (949) 642-0600; www.detroitbar.com. Thurs., March 22. $8. 21+.
