Premature Evaluation: of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping
Skeletal Lamping is anything but skeletal. When we took a close listen to album closer "Id Engager" we mentioned it wasn't the strangest, most ambitious, or best tune on of Montreal's new one, but after absorbing the other 14 tracks, it's clearly the ideal closer. Skeletal opens with the schizo epic "Nonpareil of Favor" and never lets up shifting, which is why you want a more straight-ahead disco track -- Kevin Barnes as Scissor Sister -- to close, bringing everything back, congealing into a solid finale. Of course, as one of a million curves, before the song ends you get a few seconds of rising-action fuzz that suggest another more sinister direction. But that's all part of Skeletal Lamping's shapeshifting unpredictability. It's also of Montreal at their most sexed up -- "Id Engager" alone involves some "penetration punishment." Earlier in the record, during "Women's Studies Victims" he takes one said someone in the kitchen "ass against the sink" ("She draped me in a stole, I think Malaysian mink"). Kitchen sink, yes.
Calling the Skeletal Lamping product line a "paradigm shift" is bullshit, but you shouldn't underestimate all the sex talk on the record. Yes, Kevin is really thinking with his Hissing Fauna on this one, letting us know "We can do it softcore if you want, but you should know I take it both ways" ("For Our Elegant Caste") and that "I'm just a black she-male" ("Wicked Wisdom"). He wants to "make you come 200 times a day" ("Gallery Piece") and "ejaculate until it's no longer fun" ("Plastis Wafers"), but also dry your tears. There are slow jams, braggadocio, a big cock creator, and gang bangs. And sometimes he's just straight up: "My pleasure puss, I wanna know what it's like to be inside you."
Amid the madness and cheeky Germaine Greer/Frida Kahlo references of "Women's Studies Victims" (which is prefaced by the hilarious disco funk/fuck of "Gallery Piece" and its "I wanna be your love / I wanna make you cry ... / I wanna hurt your pride / I wanna slap your face / I wanna paint your nails," etc. line of thought), you'll get more rawly emotional moments like the sweet, somber, and Beatles-esque "Touched Something's Hollow," Barnes asking "Why am I so damaged, girl? / Why am I such poison, girl?" and concluding "I don't know how long I can hold on if it's going to be like this forever." But it's not going to be like this forever: The song is less then two minutes long, blending immediately into the joyous horns and falsetto of "An Eluardian Instance."
It's impossible describing each twist and turn, but we have the strange Ween/Prince-isms of "St. Exquisite's Confessions" ("I'm so sick of sucking the dick of this cruel cruel city..."), "Triphallus, To Punctuate!"'s smooth balladry and post-breakup pickup lines ("You should call me some time, I won't answer, but at least I'll know you care..."), the fuzzy, chanted electro blur of "Death Is Not A Parallel Move" before it becomes pastoral psychedelia, etc, etc. And, in the end, even with the moments of nostalgia (see "our last summer of as independents" in the aforementioned "An Eluardian Instance") or warning (the doo-wop strings of "Beware Our Nubile Miscreants"), Skeletal Lamping is a big party.
This hour of music is so gigantic, and contains so many ingredients and emotions it can be almost overwhelming, but it's also playful ("what are you talking about?" "no clue"), inventive, catchy, and strange enough that you likely won't find your mind wandering. Barnes is telling engaging stories, not just wanking. Like we said about "Id Engager," it's what you'd expect the rainbow-colored rave-Edenic characters on the cover to be listening to at the end of the night when it's time to get down to knocking boots. Only, if you're using Skeletal Lamping as your soundtrack, you'd better be an all-nighter.
Note: If you don't believe us regarding Skeletal's ambition, take a listen to the previously mentioned epic opener "Nonpareil Of Favor."
of Montreal - "Nonpareil Of Favor" (MP3)
(via RS)
Skeletal Lamping is out 10/7 via Polyvinyl.
Posted at 5:41 PM by stereogum in Premature Evaluation
Tags: of Montreal
Such an intriguing and amazing record. I love the feel of this record. I love how catchy it is. I love everything about it.
Score = 1
the upcoming DREAMEND album ["The long forgotten friend"] is essential.
Score = 1
First track sounds almost animal collective like after everything kicks in.
That KB says/sings some..uh...interesting things....
Score = 1
apparently kevin barnes is a black shemale, and he also goes bothways, but hell go softcore if you want him to...
Score = 1
amazing album. people write kevin barnes off as a true artist because of the sarcastic and playful products he produces, but in my opinion, he's one of the most honest and inspiring artists out there.
Score = 4
listening to this album is like getting every imaginable type of fresh fruit shoved into my mouth. there are too many good and pure elements presented simultaneously, and i find myself unable to focus on any one thing. how many tracks can be on a song? jesus. hate all you want but i enjoy my music qualitatively.
Score = -10
so you're saying that when the musical-universal-love-goddess-of-all-that-is-and-ever-shall-be squeezes fresh kiwis and mangos and papayas from her cunt onto your upturned face and says "take of this, my ultimate gift unto the world," you're disappointed?
Score = 11
Skeletal is brilliant. It has so many dimensions to get lost in. It can be too much for some. I was ready to state after my second listen that it wasn't as great as Hissing Fauna, but I am close to change my mind. Let's listen again for the 12th time :).
Score = 0
I'm getting a lot of David Bowie in "And I've Seen A Bloody Shadow." This is a damn good album, indeed.
Score = 2
I was afraid that this was going to be the first of Montreal album that I didn't like but I love it. Hissing Fauna is a tough act to follow but this seems like a real natural progression. I love that there is so much on here that you can't just listen to it a few times and know what's going on. The first couple listens were overwhelming for sure but now I have these songs in my head all th time. Great stuff.
Score = 2
I can't believe he managed to follow Hissing Fauna with this. The whole album is amazingly complex, overwhelming and, probably most importantly, schizophrenically varied. E.g. Gallery Piece is just one opposite after the other and there's great juxtaposition of topics, such as old-fashioned language with mentions of Halo.
"Beware Our Nubile Miscreants" is easily my favourite track, with Barnes creating this genius male whore character. Anyway, this is definitely one of my albums of the year. (I have a feeling Pitchfork might feel the same way).
Score = 5
I went into this album with the expectation that it was going to be of Montreal's very glossy, easy pop release (Isn't that what Kevin Barnes originally said it was going to sound like, especially after hearing "Feminine Effects" [which doesn't appear on the album] stream on their MySpace?) It's not, though, and that doesn't really bother me because I probably may have misread what he said. I just really need some time to digest this one, though. There is a lot going on in it, and it's a lengthy album altogether. If I had to give a premature evaluation, I'd say giving it the proper attention will probably result in a rewarding listen.
Score = 1
I'm certain this album will open the whole ambitious/over-ambitious argument. I fall in the former-- Barnes is the pop genius of this generation. While I believe that this album will not bring people on board who never got into oM or can only take Barnes in small doses (as the Georgie Fruit character is very prominent on this album), I am already jumping the gun and calling this a top album of the year contender.
Score = 1
Such an amazing album. Seriously. I haven't stopped listening to it since I got it last week and I still find new things every time. It's their best, and I say that loving both Satanic Panic and Hissing Fauna.
Score = 1
I can't take credit for discovering this, but if you listen to the album in reverse order, it flows almost seamlessly. I like the disjointed Blueberry Boat-esque feel that the original order creates myself, but for the record "Id Engager" and "Nonpareil of Favor" work much better in the opposite positions.
Score = 0
Best Album Heavily Influenced By 'Lovesexy' Ever.
(and that's a compliment)
Score = 0
Why can't anyone admit that everything except the first track on this album is just annoying. There are good ideas in his lyrics, but damn! What a headache.
Score = -8
Just cause everything else is annoying to you doesn't make it the same for everyone else mate.
It's funny though cause if there's anything at all "annoying" about this disc it would be the second half of the first track.
Score = 1
Like many others, I too was obviously worried about the follow-up to Hissing Fauna, which did indeed seem impossible to match, let alone top. I expected the worst. The more I listen to it though, the more I like it, as more is revealed on every single listen. Listening to it is like entering a new and undiscovered multicoloured (not in the Benetton way) world where smiling nymphs and stuffed animals hand out fruit, candy and toys while offering sexual favours. Stand-out tracks so far: An Eluardian Instance, Touched Something's Hollow, and Death Is Not A Parallel Move. To truly enjoy it you have to fully embrace it. Immerse yourself. It'll be more than worth getting wet for. They've easily matched Hissing Fauna, maybe (and i know i'll probably get jumped on for this seemingly blasphemous statement) even surpassed it...
Score = 0
The biggest problem with the last few Of Montreal albums is that each one seems to eclipse the previous record and make it nearly obsolete. I haven't listened to this yet except a small snippet, but I highly look forward to the trend continuing.
Score = 1
The schizo-manic aspect of all of these songs initially made me wonder if I had received an unmastered and unmixed copy of the new music. Then it confused me. Then it frustrated me. Then it annoyed me. Then the songs began to stick. Then I realized the growth of an artist that Kevin Barnes needed to express. Challenging yes, but I'm excited to see Barnes try something, albeit not completely, new. Great next step in the Of Montreal discography.
Score = 4
Well I believe Skeletal Lamping and Hissing Fauna go hand in hand. They just fit together. I'd even go as far as to say they could make an incredible, and truly mind-blowing, double album. Which probably isn't really something you can say about the previous albums. I don't remember where I read it, but somewhere around the time of Hissing Fauna I read somewhere 'When did Of Montreal become SO good!?'. And, as much as I love a lot of his pre HF stuff, something does seem to have changed within Kevin Barnes, as if he just woke up one day, almost a different person... and currently seems to be sailing a wave of almost unlimited creativity... Long may his muse last.
Score = 0
I've only listened to it once so far... was disappointed at first, but then I realized I was just expecting a Hissing Fauna pt 2, which this clearly isn't. Everything they've done since Satanic Panic has been first rate, and this is probably no exception. Each album goes its own way, which is nice. personally I prefer the deathly weight of the lyrics on Hissing, but the random sexual come ons in this are ok too.
Score = 0
Of Montreal seems to improve in a lot of ways with each record, but at the same time they lose a lot of the qualities that made their previous albums so good.
Musicly this album is awesome, but I seriously doubt that Kevin Barnes will ever write another track as strange as Penelope or as minimalistic as the stuff from cherry peel.
I also feel that this is an album that should be listed to from front to back, but it's really long, I haven't been able to finish it in one listen yet.
But it's definitely worth picking up.
I'm just glad Feminine Effects didn't make it on (I hate that song)
Score = -1
I haven't heard Skeletal Lamping yet, but Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies is one of my favorite records ever, mainly because of how all over the place and imaginative it is. I also think Hissing Fauna is brilliant. From what i've read, it seems like Kevin is writing more in that schizophrenic Coquelicot style again, but with the Hissing Fauna aesthetic, which makes me pretty excited. I thought the next oM record was going to be too streamlined, but leave it to KB to continue to be awesome.
Is this record is like Coquelicot at all?
Score = 0
of their older stuff, I've only heard The Gay Parade, but yes... structurally, it's a lot more like that. Crazy and all over the place, with 12 ideas going every 60 seconds. But sonically, it sounds a lot like Hissing Fauna/Sunlandic Twins only wilder
Score = 0
Damn, I didn't even know they had an album coming out this year. You've just made me wet my pants. Thanks.
Score = 0
Sometimes I feel like one of the only people who has loved everything Kevin has done since 96/97. Yes, his new stuff is amazing but I would be lying if I said it didn't pain my heart a little every time I hear something like "he's been great since Satanic Panic!" or what have you. The man's been great his entire career. The melodies have always been strong. I truly doubt there is a song of his I have never had stuck in my head at least once.
But maybe I just feel this way cause I grew up with this band. I don't know what it's like for someone who only got into them after Kevin discovered the computer.
On topic though: Skeletal Lamping is brilliant. Of course.
Score = 5
I've always thought of Montreal have been a touch overrated by the PF contingent. Too cartooonish and too Outback steakhouse (it's cheesy, just admit it!). But credit where credit's due, the album kicks ass. Nevertheless, I'd be afraid to be in an "all-nighter" with Kevin Barnes or any of his friends, so if it's all the same if I'm ever in this situation would someone please call me a cab.
Score = 1
That's not a Frida Kahlo reference. It's a Betty Friedan reference.
Score = 2
Listen to all you faggots. I had this album over a month ago through a secret connection and you guys are just now jumping on the bandwagon. It's a wonderful album, tops Hissing Fauna, and is the best album yet. But the album art is one of the most atrocious pieces of shits I've ever laid my eyes on.
Score = -21
Post of the year dude. Just awesome.
Score = 1
Oh P. Brand, can I touch you? Can I touch your 'special connection'? You can touch mine.
Asshat
Score = 9
FUCK YOU, Daniel Boy. I was one of THEE first people to hear this album! You can't touch me. I'm fucking unstoppable...like Lil' Wayne. I fucking hate parents who name their kid Daniel....they think they're so cool and they're gonna have a perfect little sports-playing faggot for a son. Daniel. HA! What a joke....same with the name John, Taylor, Travis, Mike...etc.
Score = -13
Seriously - just use Craigslist and find that giant cock your ass has been itching for. It will make you happier and the internet a better place.
Score = 1
What was Kevin Barnes thinking when he chose this album cover. It looks like 90s trash. It's just the drawings of the people that look really horrendous. The top half is pretty cool, but those people make me cringe. Anyone agree with that?
Score = -12
Kevin Barnes obviously likes it, so its fine with me.
Score = 0
Kevin doesnt chose the album art. His brother creates all the album covers based on what the music evokes.
Score = 0
Through my first listen, I hated almost all of it, and was just generally annoyed. I had different expectations for the album. But after neglecting those, and listening to it non-stop, it has grown on me. I really do love it. I don't know if it's the best album released this year but it certainly is among the top contenders. Microcastle/ Weird Era Cont. owns that spot in my heart. I'd say Skeletal Lamping is a close second and the most ambitious of '08.
Score = 2
It's Definitely The Biggest And Best Schizophrenic Party I've Ever Been Too.
Score = 0
favorite lyric:
"we climbed up on the rocky shore/ and freaked out on the mountain goats/ but they were not impressed/ or scared of us."
Score = 1
My head is going to explode. as i read your comment i was listening to that part of the song...
I'm really really enjoying this album.
Score = 3
WHAT THE HELL. SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME HERE! AHHHHHHHH! Someone get the indie pop pope to confirm this as some sort of miracle. Either that, or Kevin Barnes has telepathic energies that read minds or something. I wouldn't doubt it...
Score = 2
Not to be a p4k geek, but I have a strong feeling this album will top the list this year unless some super secret surprise Panda Bear album comes out..
Score = 1
Yeah, if Hissing Fauna was 5 last year, this should definitly be up there, if not higher this year
Score = 0
I wish I was hearing what everyone else is. For me, this album reeks of self-loathing dressed up in club flares and false bravado.
Score = -1
Dw Dunphy, self-loathing is kind of Kevin Barnes thing man. If you haven't noticed that by now I'm not sure how much you've really been listening to of Montreal.
If you stop taking this album so seriously you'll realize how fun and enjoyable it is.
Score = 3
But that's the thing. Satanic Panic, Sunlandic Twins and Hissing Fauna actually felt fun to me, especially "Heimdallsgate"... This sounds like a fun album musically, but a cry for help lyrically.
Score = 0
I know what you mean. The lyrics are definitely a lot more sexually charged and more than often ridiculous. In my opinion it's just as catchy as their more recent albums though. The album feels like the sound palette of an even funkier, largely dance oriented Hissing Fauna but going off in all sorts of directions as far as structure.
Score = 0
Phenomenal. I was also fearing a letdown after Hissing Fauna, so this blew me away. And it get's better with each listen.
Score = 0
I'll admit it, I find "nonpareil of favor" to be annoying and definitely skitzo (however that's spelled), but I've really grown to like the album as a whole. Am I wrong for thinking "An Eluardian Instance" (help me out, what is that referencing?) and "Id Engager" are the best songs on the album. Am I wrong in thinking that the best songs on this album are better than the best tunes on Hissing Fauna. Oh and "Touched Something's Hollow" is freaking beautiful. I too am hearing the Blueberry Boat esp on "nonpareil" and Bowie throughout.
Score = 0
hey stereogum
i like you better than pitchfork
and i enjoyed this premature eval
but would it kill you to put number ratings on these things?
sometimes i read your stuff and can't tell if you like it or not
and if i see a review in the mid-range, i know its not worth my time so please just do this for me?
Score = -2
skeletal leak = premature ejac
sorry
Score = 1
I'm the kind of person who likes to listen to an album for the first time in my bigass stereo and one of the best moments of my life was popping in Hissing Fauna. However, knowing that Barnes can be a fucking genius with lyrically schitzo intriguing dance pop, I took a chance on listening to the first track and I'm highly impressed. So far the reviews are great and I'm excited for the October release.
Score = 0
fuck pitchfork.
build a band up and shut them down.
Score = 1
Premature Evaluation or Prem Ejaculation? Better be long and strong to tackle this album...but it's worth it. It's brilliant! I love the mash up of genres and ideas and one gets the sense he's going for more complex song structures but the approach to that end is external as in 'DJ' rather than internal as 'composer'. Brilliant trademark harmonies and chord changes and the perfect meld of Freddie Mercury & Prince with traces of inspiration of so many other fantastic artists and yet Barnes makes it all his own. Favorite moment: 'Touched Something's Hollow' going into the fanfare of 'An Eluardian Instance'.
Score = 0