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of Montreal goes glam

Written by Andrew Priest - Argonaut

Monday, 06 October 2008

Of Montreal has always been a delightfully inconsistent band — eccentric concept albums being their forte — but it may be this time that front man Kevin Barnes has finally gone kooky. This week of Montreal released their ninth studio album, “Skeletal Lamping.” It’s one that touches on their past catchy experimentalism and takes it somewhere that just makes you feel dirty — in the good way. In their last release, “Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?”  Barnes unleashed his alter ego, the likes of which has not been seen since David Bowie’s Ziggy “Glam-Rock Alien From The Future Destined to Save the Earth” Stardust. I doubt many people expected Barnes’ new inner-Bowie to take over creative control from there on out, but that’s what happened. Barnes’ new creation is named Georgie Fruit. He’s the black, transsexual, sinister half of Barnes’ personality. In “Skeletal Lamping,” Fruit has been let loose to liberate Barnes’ more perverse glam-funk urges. Imagine Bowie if he had never come across Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” or the alluring, dollish vice of New York proto-punk bands. He would have remained an obscure dissenter in the world of psychedelic folk, and what a tragedy that would have been. Such is the story of of Montreal, which is one of the most important connections to make in this album. The band seems to have become enlightened, worshipping gods like Freddie Mercury and Iggy Pop. Much like Bowie, of Montreal had less going for them with their “Lysergic Bliss”-style LSD trip or the lo-fi indie rock that started of Montreal’s career, so it’s fantastic that they’ve found their way. Ultimately, this album is about transformations, which have always come easy to the band, but as is always the story with of Montreal, there’s more to it. “Skeletal Lamping” is pure sinful celebration, and I enjoy every minute of it. It’s the heavily sexual lyrics — more so than ever in the band’s past. It’s the visual image of Barnes performing the music in the buff, which he has been known to do in the past. It’s the dirty, funky disco melodies that would be otherwise completely uncalled for. It’s all that wrapped up in psychedelic nude pagans dancing around the front cover of the album. However, it’s always been my experience after each new release by of Montreal that I find I completely misunderstood the previous one. They each give small clues to what’s going on inside the mind of Barnes, and hopefully listeners will learn something new about their own transsexual alter ego. Add as favorites (13) | Views: 242 Be first to comment this article Write Comment Please keep the topic of messages relevant to the subject of the article. Personal verbal attacks will be deleted. Please don't use comments to plug your web site. Such material will be removed. Just ensure to *Refresh* your browser for a new security code to be displayed prior to clicking on the 'Send' button. Keep in mind that the above process only applies if you simply entered the wrong security code. Name: Title: Comment: