Category:
Rock / Pop

Try if you like:
Islands, Modest Mouse, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Apples In Stereo, The Decemberists

One band you can usually count on for experimental pop bliss is Of Montreal. They've been going now for over a decade and probably just as many albums. Their new album is Skeletal Lamping and while it does have many highlights, there are some issues with it as well.

Kevin Barnes starts of his new album thanking us on "Nonpariel of Favor". Then it gets a little sonic near the end of the track with some repetitive samples and harmonies. It works because it doesn't go on long enough to really annoy you. Then Of Montreal goes right into the melodies that we've come to expect on "Wicked Wisdom". Oh, it's still unconventional but the stereo sounds are fantastic. My favorite track is the pretty high falsetto sung "For Our Elegant Castle". It ends up being a pop/glam rock demonstration. But sadly this is the highlight of the album. The band slow things right down with "Touched Something's Hollow", taking on a bit of David Bowie persona. We head back into the stratosphere with the ambitious "An Eluardian Instance" another decent track. I love the energy shift closer to the end. The lyrics are a little suspect being quite sexual. It gets tiring after a while ("I want to make you cum, 200 times a day", "I'm so sick of sucking the dick of this cruel, cruel city" etc). "Women's Studies Victims" was a bit different but it didn't really do much for me. It's almost as if Barnes is trying to fit too much into some of these songs. Either make two separate songs or don't make the separation in the song so different. 

Skeletal Lamping isn't the best effort from Barnes and the rest of the band but it is far from their worst as well. I don't think Of Montreal will be able to keep this whimsical sound up for another album. It seems that they may have taken it just about as far as they can without running out of ideas.