BEST OF ELSEWHERE 2009 Of Montreal: Skeletal Lamping (Pop Frenzy/Rhythmethod)

 |   |  <1 min read

BEST OF ELSEWHERE 2009 Of Montreal: Skeletal Lamping (Pop Frenzy/Rhythmethod)

Unless they come with a DVD (rare), there's not much added-value with CDs. Not like in olden days when you could get a gatefold sleeve on an album.

This camp, goodtime pop-funk and sex obssessed outfit from Georgia offer much added value if you buy the CD: it comes with an elaborate, multi-coloured fold-out sleeve that reaches 60cm across. That's a lot of colourful flowers, writing bodies, bird life, suggestions of genitalia . . .

What's inside the package is just as colourful and suggestive: frontman Kevin Barnes borrows from funk, Prince at his most outre, disco-ballads, sexy soul, pure pop, art-rock, glam, Queen,  . . .

And Barnes unashamedy traverses sex of all kinds from the sluttish to the sublime in songs which have odd melodic twists, instantly memorable pop hooks and choruses, odd sonic flourishes, changes of mood . . .

"We can do it soft core if you want, but you should know I go both ways," he sings on the improbably poppy and impossibly named For Our Elegant Caste. Later he also wants to be your love, hurt your pride, paint your nails, kiss your friends . . .

Like an ambi-sexual Kool and the Gang, an even more specific Prince and a shameless porn star, this album is by turns hilariously rude, coquettish, louche, funky and just a big bag of fun.

Apparently Of Montreal are something to see on stage -- and they come to Auckland and Wellington in February. A show not to be missed is my pick. 

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   Music at Elsewhere articles index

Richard Walters: AM (pilotlights)

Richard Walters: AM (pilotlights)

This emotion-driven English singer-songwriter who works in the world of electronica-cum-balladry delivered one of Elsewhere's favourite albums in 2010, The Animal. His milieu is an area which... > Read more

Trentemoller: Obverse (In My Room/Southbound/digital outlets)

Trentemoller: Obverse (In My Room/Southbound/digital outlets)

Over time spent with the considerable catalogue of the Danish electronica experimenter Anders Trentemoller, you might conclude it is easier to like what he likes than what he does. By that we... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

The Flys: Love and a Molotov Cocktail (1978)

The Flys: Love and a Molotov Cocktail (1978)

1977 was a confusing year in Britain: pub-rockers Dr Feelgood were at an all-time peak, the Sex Pistols, the Clash and others advanced the punk agenda, and off on the margins were power-pop bands... > Read more

ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL: COLLISION COURSE, CONSIDERED (1978): Sage and silly songs from sagebrush territories

ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL: COLLISION COURSE, CONSIDERED (1978): Sage and silly songs from sagebrush territories

Ray Benson seems an unlikely character to have created the soulful Western Swing outfit Asleep at the Wheel, a band which took its lead from the sound of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys as well as... > Read more