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February 08, 2007

The Surrealists were just Nihilists with good imaginations

There is no way around it. I love the new Of Montreal album. Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer is one of the best albums to take over my stereo in quite some time. Leaking late last year, the album could have easily hovered near the top of 2006 year end lists were it not for the high journalistic standards of MS.com.

Hissing Fauna is a concept album. Conceptual in the fact that the album needs to be listened as a whole. More than a collection of songs, or a vessel for new Of Montreal material packaged conveniently on disk, the album introduces, lures and then deeply entrenches you into the dark state of Kevin Barnes' thoughts. It will force you to anchor ashore beaches of profound heartache. Waves of confessional lyrics sung through multi-tracked vocal harmonies of his own voice tearing through some of the funkiest music under the indie rock umbrella.

Those familiar with previous Of Montreal work will immediately recognize the sound imprint Barnes so famously described as “21st century ADD electro-cinematic avant disco." Self-awareness is good, though few musical actions previous to the latest release come close to hinting at the direction of Hissing Fauna. The varying themes of emotional stress scar the record in a daringly artful way. One that will tickle your fancy for as long as you decide to keep looking for something new.

Of Montreal - "Suffer for Fashion"

A laughing baby cued with thundering skies behaves much like a prologue to the rubric that follows. It serves as introduction to the drama of repeated pleas for keeping the family “together.” Taking turns alternating a rhyming chorus of “forever” while underlining the inevitable doubts that have taken hold into practical certainties ("Vicissitudes are boxing our heads"). Shell-shocked into a corner he very rationally appeals that “it’s not supposed to happen like that.” It sure isn't man. Nobody goes into a marriage knowing it's doomed. That is just not part of the fairytale.

Dude stays calm, but sick with love. A man with the wind knocked out of him as the heavily invested relationship shatters. Like the eye of the storm waltzing along peacefully witnessing destruction all around.

All this deflated depression from a broken man should elicit the kind of dreary music it's entitled. Au contraire, mon ami. Kept light and upbeat without an ounce of the self loathing gloom usually interpreted by long lazy keystrokes and drawn out chords. Instead chainsaw guitars kick into gear when he calls for either dancing or life: “We’ve got to keep our little clique/ Clicking at 130 bpm.” The normal heart rate for a conscious adult. One that presumably is not anywhere close to the ledge.

Of Montreal - "Gronlandic Edit"

"Dancing for the indie star"

Etched from the alter-ego groove of Ziggy Stardust, we are introduced to the blossoming presence of a 2007 contemporary: Georgie Fruit – the main protagonist of Hissing Fauna’s second act.

Sometimes conceptual topics need to be flipped to avoid message fatigue. I think the last Flaming Lips record, the good, but flawed At War With the Mystics communicated the feel-good message of love and peace best in the satirical "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song." By taking on the role of his demonized characters, Wayne Coyne achieves more in parodying the corruption of absolute power then he does when directly condemning. The same way Borat accomplishes more exposing ignorance than a self-rightous documentary might. Here, Barnes tells us of his character's first baby steps as he exits from self-imposed exile. Even a flamboyant hermit needs to come out to fluff his feathers now and again.

Dressed with an awesome new wave bassline that is begging for a faster outfit. The irresistible beat is a slutty makeover away from a dirty, under the disco lights rug-tearing bender at the debutantes ball. The non-sequitor pitch (headlining this post) is vintage art-school Barnes. So is the line "We fell back to earth like gravity's bitches/(Physics makes us all its bitches).

Framed to the story of Hissing Fauna the "Gronlandic" chapter is fraught with the decisions a recluse needs to make upon reintroducing himself to the world. Take a holy path? Rebel from family legacy? How about rock and roll? In his eyes the rocker persona rules the phonies, but when you're trying to forget your own bitter truths only the stage protects. "In the set, I forget all of the beauty's wasted."

Tour dates after the jump off.

//Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? - buy
//Polyvinyl - Entire Of Montreal discography for $50 (6 CDs + 1 EP) - buy
//Of Montreal - Myspace
//Of Montreal - site

Posted by Merry Swankster at February 8, 2007 10:33 AM

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Posted by: Kelli Douglas at February 8, 2007 11:16 AM

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