The Clash meets the B-52's at a party thrown by Cake and it’s all about sex. That is the vibe you get from of Montreal when you listen to their Daughter of Cloud album which is scheduled to be released by polyvinyl records on October 23, 2012. The album packages 17 rarities previously recorded by of Montreal and 10 new ones.
of Montreal hails from Athens, Georgia and has been around in several incarnations since 1996. The indi-pop band, started by Kevin Barnes, has at least eleven prior albums and has attracted quite a following. It even has its own Wikipedia entry. What ultimately makes this album fascinating is that it examines the sound of the band and its musical composition, and shows how they have evolved over the the past decade and a half.
There is tongue in cheek turned gland in hand. The track "Sails, Hermaphroditic" is like an in your face funky, more dangerous, less politically correct, "Short Skirt, Long Jacket" and "Jan Doesn't Like It" asks, "Come play with my erection. Can't you see that it is standing at attention," in a way that would make an Aladdin Sane David Bowie move uneasily.
There is psychedelic funk in "Steppin' Out" wherein Funkadelic meets Jimi Hendrix on a modern day rapper's dance floor. There are strange dragging melodies and harmonies atop disturbing lyrics in efforts such as "Tender Fax." Sweet modern indie pop melodies, Beach Boy harmonies and beautiful lyrics punctuate "Psychotic Feeling" and counter balance a peculiar fixation on bump and grind. "Noir Blues to Tinnitus" is a sparkling melodic instrumental.
The sound is eclectic to be sure; it is also in your face (or any other available orifice). Call it what you will - indie, synth pop, experimental music, art rock - one thing is certain, it will surprise and harness emotions in you that you probably weren't ready to explore. The album ends with "Expecting To Fly", a stark grand piano and voice ballad that echoes with the tone of a prayer in an empty church. Near its end a chorus joins in and brings with it beauty and hope. It is the reverence in this, of Montreal's anthology of irreverence, Daughter of Cloud.
Get yours here - http://www.polyvinylrecords.com/store/index.php?listID=196
- Old School
Sails, Hermaphroditic
Steppin’ Out
