Of Montreal - Lousy With Sylvianbar
Release Date: 8 October
Label: Polvinyl
Rating: 8.0 out of 10
Label: Polvinyl
Rating: 8.0 out of 10
The pressure to reinvent yourself as a serious musician or band is nothing new. It stems from a surge of interest in the sound you're creating. When you lay the foundations for what will later become a fad, it leads to your credibility as an artist being questioned. It's the thousand little posers doing cubism that made Picasso learn impressionism. It's Elvis Presley stealing the blues and commercializing them. It's MGMT and Tame Impala and Animal Collective being listened to and collaborating with rappers that lead Of Montreal to dig a little deeper and redefine the genre that was being raped. They drew on the inspiration that their heroes drew on. It's the moment when Bob Dylan picked up an electric guitar live on stage. It's when The Beatles stopped writing songs about holding hands and telling secrets. It's when The Hollies started going abstract and forgetting about hooks. It isn't a recognizable moment for some, but it's a very important moment to the evolution of not only a well used genre, but of music in general. For the last four albums Of Montreal have missed the mark and got lost beneath layers of pretentious hipster bullsh*t. They effectively leave behind the psychedelic drama to the young pups and venture through depression and doubt to arrive somewhere new. It's something honest, something recognizable yet obscure enough to remain interesting and may end up being a very important moment in modern music.
Blow by blow:
02: Obsidian Currents - Continuing with Bowie type vocals circa 'Station To Station', this track scales it back to an eerie atmosphere that swirls upwards towards a perfect stoner psyche jazz breakdown for the wordless chorus, pushing it into a late 70s, Hollies 'Air That I Breathe' reminiscence. Very chilled and irresistible.
03: Belle Grade Missionaries - It's back into the honky-tonk space bar with Kevin Barnes waxing lyrical about a future-type society shaped by the post modern, mindless violence committed by school youths. It's 'I Am The Walrus' meets that funky alien band in Star Wars. With Steppenwolf organs to fade out.
04: Sirens Of Your Toxic Spirit - Then we're taken right down to a subtle ballad in the vein of The Kinks in their later years. All the inspirations of the band are built on the more obscure years from the great pop bands of the 60s and 70s. It all ties together for a sound that is immediately retro and fresh. The softer sounds ground the freakier ones, as always with these guys.
05: Colossus - When Kevin begins narrating a dreary tale of suicide and a grief stricken family, you're never sure where it's going to go. In this case it would get uninteresting were it not for some crisp percussion and more of those layered harmonies that punctuate so effectively. At this point you're not entirely sure where the album is going, yet I was engaged enough in the sound to continue with them.
06: Triumph Of Disintegration - I'm glad I stuck with them. As happens in life, hitting rock bottom leaves only one direction for you. The music swing upwards with Barnes chanelling his feelings of disconnection into anger and a fighting spirit, lending this song a Smashing Pumpkins / Pixies, snotty, skaterpunk sound. Before slipping effortlessly back into a piano riff, culminating with a very clumsy, gutsy guitar solo. It all fits together somehow. This is the reason the guys are great.
07: Amphibian Days - A very mature, sober sounding guitar intro leads to this beautiful country-tinged moment. Does it fit in entirely here? I'm not really convinced. This is the first time my finger was determined towards the fast forward button. A pretty but pointless track. That unfortunately lasts 5 minutes.
08: She Ain't Speaking Now - We pick it up again with a deliciously Abbey Road / Eagles interpretation. The country guitars from the previous track have filtered their way to this track, but are quickly swallowed up in another one of those messy electric guitar riffs and catchy melody. I think about a girl dying?
09: Heigr migr - No, not a Sigur Ros cover. This one returns to the bluegrass, teetering very close to 'Dirty Town' by Mother Mother. A dirty little ditty about wannabe redneck hipsters and how they cope with living in the country. Hunt down UFOs and play with guns. "I got myself a rifle coz I ain't gonna get walked on anymore". Lyrics along the lines of "Maggies Farm".
10: Raindrop In My Skull - There's a moment in Wes Anderson's 'The Royal Tennenbaums' with a song by 70s songstress Nico. 'These Days' sounds like the inspiration for this particular track. It's helpful having modern references to beautiful retro obscurities.
11: Imbecile Rages - And we end on an Abbey Road note. The closing track comes courtesy of those soaring 70s guitars and 'Queen Bitch' vocals.
One of their more cohesive and accessible albums, I still think 'Lousy With Sylvianbar' will win them no new fans and only placate old fans. They managed to capture that moment between the 60s and 70s when musicians like the Kinks, Bowie, Lennon and even Bob Dylan were striving through an awkward phase of trying to find their feet in what seemed much gloomier territory. Of Montreal struggle through a similar landscape and emerge somewhat triumphant. The only question is 'who cares?'.
WVS.
Blow by blow:
01: Fugitive Air - Honky-tonk blues swamp guitar layered over Bowie vocals with a Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory vibe. Complete with a dreamy bridge and la-la-la outro. Great opener.
02: Obsidian Currents - Continuing with Bowie type vocals circa 'Station To Station', this track scales it back to an eerie atmosphere that swirls upwards towards a perfect stoner psyche jazz breakdown for the wordless chorus, pushing it into a late 70s, Hollies 'Air That I Breathe' reminiscence. Very chilled and irresistible.
03: Belle Grade Missionaries - It's back into the honky-tonk space bar with Kevin Barnes waxing lyrical about a future-type society shaped by the post modern, mindless violence committed by school youths. It's 'I Am The Walrus' meets that funky alien band in Star Wars. With Steppenwolf organs to fade out.
04: Sirens Of Your Toxic Spirit - Then we're taken right down to a subtle ballad in the vein of The Kinks in their later years. All the inspirations of the band are built on the more obscure years from the great pop bands of the 60s and 70s. It all ties together for a sound that is immediately retro and fresh. The softer sounds ground the freakier ones, as always with these guys.
05: Colossus - When Kevin begins narrating a dreary tale of suicide and a grief stricken family, you're never sure where it's going to go. In this case it would get uninteresting were it not for some crisp percussion and more of those layered harmonies that punctuate so effectively. At this point you're not entirely sure where the album is going, yet I was engaged enough in the sound to continue with them.
06: Triumph Of Disintegration - I'm glad I stuck with them. As happens in life, hitting rock bottom leaves only one direction for you. The music swing upwards with Barnes chanelling his feelings of disconnection into anger and a fighting spirit, lending this song a Smashing Pumpkins / Pixies, snotty, skaterpunk sound. Before slipping effortlessly back into a piano riff, culminating with a very clumsy, gutsy guitar solo. It all fits together somehow. This is the reason the guys are great.
07: Amphibian Days - A very mature, sober sounding guitar intro leads to this beautiful country-tinged moment. Does it fit in entirely here? I'm not really convinced. This is the first time my finger was determined towards the fast forward button. A pretty but pointless track. That unfortunately lasts 5 minutes.
08: She Ain't Speaking Now - We pick it up again with a deliciously Abbey Road / Eagles interpretation. The country guitars from the previous track have filtered their way to this track, but are quickly swallowed up in another one of those messy electric guitar riffs and catchy melody. I think about a girl dying?
09: Heigr migr - No, not a Sigur Ros cover. This one returns to the bluegrass, teetering very close to 'Dirty Town' by Mother Mother. A dirty little ditty about wannabe redneck hipsters and how they cope with living in the country. Hunt down UFOs and play with guns. "I got myself a rifle coz I ain't gonna get walked on anymore". Lyrics along the lines of "Maggies Farm".
10: Raindrop In My Skull - There's a moment in Wes Anderson's 'The Royal Tennenbaums' with a song by 70s songstress Nico. 'These Days' sounds like the inspiration for this particular track. It's helpful having modern references to beautiful retro obscurities.
11: Imbecile Rages - And we end on an Abbey Road note. The closing track comes courtesy of those soaring 70s guitars and 'Queen Bitch' vocals.
One of their more cohesive and accessible albums, I still think 'Lousy With Sylvianbar' will win them no new fans and only placate old fans. They managed to capture that moment between the 60s and 70s when musicians like the Kinks, Bowie, Lennon and even Bob Dylan were striving through an awkward phase of trying to find their feet in what seemed much gloomier territory. Of Montreal struggle through a similar landscape and emerge somewhat triumphant. The only question is 'who cares?'.
WVS.
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| The Village People look gayer than I remember... |
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