2 posts tagged “of montreal”

1) “Hissing Fauna, are You the Destroyer?” by Of Montreal
And then there’s number one. The be-all/end-all of 2007 albums, Of Montreal’s nearly unclassifiable “Hissing Fauna, are You the Destroyer?” The album is a concept album, detailing Kevin Barnes’s life after a divorce with his ex-wife. When I heard about this album, the first thought that came into my mind was that it was going to be a stereotypical pain-and-suffering album. As Aaron Barrett of Reel Big Fish said during a live show, a lot of bands know that “you can make a hell of a lot of money off of pain and suffering.” This divorce album uses the concept of pain and suffering, and takes it to the next level. There’s the classic ‘Suffer for Fashion’ intro, “We just want to emote ‘till we’re dead!” Then in ‘Cato as a Pun’, Barnes just wants to “shave your head, have a drink, and be left alone. (Is that too much to ask?)”. Then he makes a desperate plea to his chemicals in the single ‘Heimdalsgate like a Promethean Curse’, falls into a deep depression in ‘Gronlandic Edit’, and comes to terms with his alter ego, a black transvestite named Georgie Fruit in the 12-minute long epic ballad ‘The Past is a Grotesque Animal’.

 

Wait, what? That’s not how this gig usually goes down…and that’s about the time you realize that “Hissing Fauna” is not your typical breakup album. Kevin Barnes and crew (I refer to Kevin most often because he writes and composes almost all Of Montreal’s music) break quite a few boundaries in this album. For one, they put a slightly insane spin on just about everything they write about. For one, Kevin Barnes is assuming the role of Georgie Fruit for the latter half of the album, a move which not only changes him lyrically but gives the music a pseudo-funk spin instead of the indie pop sound that dominated the first few tracks. Primarily, Fruit serves as an outlet for all of Barnes’s anger that he keeps locked inside. This is seen in ‘She’s a Rejector’, where he serenades you with “There’s the girl who left me bitter/Want to pay some other girl to just go up to her and hit her…”and then explodes, screaming “But I can’t/I can’t/I can’t/can’t/can’t!” Of course, the sound change is a large difference, and it nudges Of Montreal into other genres. As an Elephant 6 band, they are notorious for pushing the genres, but the sound in the second half of the album is something between a 70’s discotheque, a dance-punk concert, and a power-pop group that would give NSYNC a run for their money. If this sounds absurd, don’t fool yourself; it is, but it’s also incredibly appealing. ‘The Past is a Grotesque Animal’ conveys this change well; as the 12-minute song slowly adds to itself. Where at the start, it was a soft drum machine and a voice; it ends with an angsty choir, a pulsing beat, a medley of synthesizers, and one Georgie Fruit.

 

I have no clue what Of Montreal is trying to show with this album, but I would agree with just about any suggestion. They break the boundaries of their own loose “sound”, their structure, and even their own personalities. While for most artists, this would be a gamble at best, it’s a sure bet for Kevin Barnes, for whom this album seems to flow quicker than a broken floodgate. I can name very few things wrong with this album, but I will warn that it is a bit of an acquired taste (it requires a pretty liberal mind to deal with transvestites and the concept of “Soul Power” from ‘Faberge Falls for Shuggie’…) and it takes a few listens to wrap your mind around the album. But from there it becomes accessible, bold, fun, and dare I say, a euphoric listening experience.

 

Recommended Listening: “Heimdalsgate like a Promethean Curse”, “Gronlandic Edit”, “The Past is a Grotesque Animal”, “She’s a Rejector”.

-blake

EDIT: Some errata. I just wanted to name a few things that came to my mind while I was perusing my music collection. Here ya go!

Albums I wish I could have listened to before posting this top 10:

• "Andorra", by Caribou
• "You, You're a History of Rust", by Do Make Say Think
• "Digital Shades Volume 1", by M83
• "Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon", by Devendra Banhart
• "Sound of Silver", by LCD Soundsystem
• "In Rainbows", by Radiohead
  

Best EP 2007

• "Icons, Abstract Thee", by Of Montreal

Best Singles 2007

• "Timebomb", by Beck
• "Thou Shalt Always Kill", by Dan Le Sac Vs. Scroobius Pip

Albums I'm Looking Forward to in 2008

• "The Bedlam in Goliath", by The Mars Volta
• Whatever Beck decides to put out
• "When Life Gives You Lemons...", by Atmosphere
• Whatever Mogwai decides to put out
• "13 Blues for Thirteen Moons", by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
• Whatever Primus decides to put out
• "Skeletal Lamping", by Of Montreal (Jeez, these guys are on a friggen roll!)
  

(Photo courtesy of me.)

So I went to see Of Montreal last weekend with MGMT and Grand Buffet. The opening acts were pretty weak; MGMT was just flat-out boring (I considered leaving, and all exits were final.), and Grand Buffet was a hilarious rap act, but they were a bit to weird for my taste. Imagine having The Mars Volta's lyrics in a rap act, and that's what they were. It was odd, to say the least. But Of Montreal put on an amazing show. They were really nervous, but Kevin Barnes (Lead Vocals/Guitar, in the bright red) said it was the biggest show they'd done so far, which made it understandable. I had to leave two songs before the encore, as my friend was taking an 11:00 train, and I was going home with her. What I saw, however, blew me away. They were energetic, hilarious, quirky, and basically everything you'd expect from them if you've heard their music. Quite grand, and they apparently have a new album coming out next year. I need to be on the lookout for that one; Hissing Fauana is probably my favorite one so far.

-blake.