Bleak cannot begin to describe the onset of this current winter here in Michigan. I find that I am pretty self-sufficient with my desktop, munchies and occasional breaks for ... life. So when the snow decides it wants to drop even flurries, I don't budge if there is no need. It was on one of those early winter days that I stumbled upon Of Montreal.
Locked away in my home for about two days, I was washing dishes when the infectious bass line of "Gronlandic Edit" rang from my speakers for the first time. I instantly began dancing to the song while cleaning and tweaked when I first heard the Of Montreal brainchild, singer/guitarist Kevin Barnes hit that note. As soon as the song ended, I had to run to my computer and investigate...
And thus my love for Of Montreal began.
Kevin Barnes, on this album, throws a new card on the table. It is different. Obscure. Parts you understand and some you don't; however, the music is quite genius. Unlike your dancing the first time through, you listen the second time and notice how personal "Gronlandic Edit" is. After nabbing a copy of Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer, you are forced for a brief moment to stretch the boundaries of what you know... at some point; moreover, once you have accepted the direction the album is flowing, Barnes switches up the intention with Sly Stone and Prince synthesizer like effects, laying bass lines filled with a funk and bite... clearly trying not to replicate by any means.To fully understand my opinion, we need to be on the same page about this album Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer. Written fresh after
the birth of his first child with his then wife, Barnes lived in Norway under deep depression. Having no familiarity, money and struggling in a foreign atmosphere, Barnes went on to write what is considered his most personal and dark album. Lyrically, Barnes doesn't overwhelm you imagery and stories that are too elaborate and self-loathing. It is just flat out there, what he is feeling. Three of my favorite lyric whammies he put together are :"Gronlandic Edit"
I am satisfied hiding in our friends apartment
only leaving once a day to buy some groceries
daylight i'm so absent minded nighttime meeting new anxieties
so am i erasing myself? hope i'm not erasing myself
guess it would be nice to give my heart to a god
but which one which one do i choose?
all the churches fill with losers psycho or confused
i just want to hold the divine in mine and forget all of the beauty's wasted
"A Sentence of Sorts in Kongvinger"
I spent the winter on the verge of
a total breakdown while living in norway
I felt the darkness of the black metal bands
But being such a faun of a man
I didn't burn down any old churches
Just slept way too much just slept
My mind rejects the frequency
It's static craziness to me
Is it a solar fever?
The t.v. man is too loud
Our plane is sleeping on a cloud
You turn the dial, I'll try and smile
We've eaten plastic weather
This family sticks together
We will escape from the south to the west side
My mind rejects the frequency it's just verbosity to me What did he say?
I spent the winter with my nose buried in a book
While trying to restructure my character
Cause it had become vile to it's creator
"Labyrinthian Pomp"
how you wanna TAG my style?
when i am so superior
how you wanna hate a thing?
when you are so, so inferior
how you wanna mess, how you wanna mess
my spotless interior-
oh-oh, oh-oh let's just say you are not the destroyer,
you are not the destroyer
let's just say
du er ikke den som ødelegger futtet (Norwegian)
The best part of "Labyrinthian Pomp" has to happen at 2:28, when the song slows up, throws on an echo effect and pops that bass just as slowly, driving it into overdrive by the next song.
Kevin Barnes artfully achieves what Beck accomplished with Sea Change, Pink Floyd mastered with Dark Side of the Moon, and producer phenomenon, the first on the scene with the medics, Dr. Dre achieves with Chronic : 2001.
What is it?
The timeless, effortless track series that flows one right into the next, and you don't stop for a moment to change the disc or song... because there is ALWAYS a surprise factor. What are they going to do next?
My Dad told me when I was a kid, I hated what we all would probably deem 'good music' because there was too much going on. Funny, but I still find it difficult to sometimes fully hear songs because the great ones always keep you interested. Something you didn't hear the first 10 times you played it, and then when you get to your friends car, you never heard the album played-back with such authority and clarity because many of us don't have studio monitors. The point - the lyrics stand by themselves as a collection of stories, individually capable of being shared. The music is solid as a rock, exemplifying Kevin as an artist who is not trying to mimic his music foundations and influences, but one who has created original pieces that can be compared to the likes of ... many, depending on what you are listening for that time through.
I am happy to add Of Montreal to the list of artist to see at the 2008 Langerado music festival. I highly encourage you to check out their Myspace, because you can listen to the entire album for free.. right now. I don't know if this is a limited time offer as it has been part of their current page layout for months; however, I make no promises. As with the other artists covered, I have included some YouTube videos of the band, including one of Kevin doing Young's "Harvest Moon."
Ben is gathering information and preparing for the next featured artist Brett Dennen to add to our precoverage of the 2008 Langerado Music Festival.
Check back for Part II of the Matt Costa series coming this weekend to RFWtv!
-Rashon Massey
MYSPACE
www.myspace.com/ofmontreal
WEBSITE
www.ofmontreal.net
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