RIYL: TV on the Radio, Hard Place, Rufus Wainwright

Of Montreal have been around for ages, and for a few years there they even produced music that made sense. Satanic Panic in the Attic and The Sunlandic Twins were electropop masterpieces, and with a collective like Elephant 6 backing you, it’s hard to believe mastermind Kevin Barnes could do wrong. Yet his experimentation in the latest releases as not Barnes but alter ego “George Fruit” just aren’t doing the Of Montreal sound justice. Sure I know his familial and psychological episodes have produced what is a contradictory dark yet still upbeat psychedelic sound, but it seems they are just one step removed from their ideal groove. Latest release Skeletal Lamping is still definitively psychedelic synth pop, but instead of a progressive departure, it feels more like a step backwards towards the band’s half-baked and inconsistent Cherry Peel days.

If you’re unfamiliar with Of Montreal’s extensive body of work, you might be taken aback by the sudden tempo changes, the constant dabbling in funk and progressive rock, the nonsensical rambling lyrics and supremely strange wordings (e.g., “I want you to be my pleasurepuss, I want to know how it feels”), but the seed is something that’s supposed to be aggressive, lighthearted, and danceable as well. For this, I direct you to Satanic Panic’s “The Party’s Crashing Us.” For attempts that fall maddeningly close to, but just shy of the mark, I direct you to Skeletal Lamping.

Fans needn’t lie in total despair, though. The hooks are still prime as anything albeit incoherent, (“Don’t you pimp out my heart” and “We can do it softcore if you want but you should know I take it both ways” among them), so at least the lyrical structures and memes are still there, but while Skeletal Lamping may appear to be up to snuff, a discerning listener will have some difficulty digesting Of Montreal’s structural ADHD. There are a few gems on the album, the funk-laced “Wicked Wisdom” and “St. Exquisite’s Confessions” among them, but overall the album is just a touch too ambitious.

Recommended Tracks:

“Wicked Wisdom,” “Four Our Elegant Caste,” “Gallery Piece,” and “St. Exquisite’s Confessions”