Of Montreal

Paste Magazine's most recent issue features Of Montreal's frontman Kevin Barnes on the cover crowning him as the "Heir to Bowie" And, in truth, the avante-pop songwriter channels Stardust's '70s era glam androgyny expertly, but while Bowie forged ahead seeking out broader influences and soundscapes, Barnes seems content with recycling his circus-act zaniness over and over. At fifteen tracks, Skeletal Lamping is another healthy (too healthy?) serving of psychedelic art-pop, which, in some instances, like the mid-section of random noise in opening track "Nonpareil of Flavor," sounds weird for the sake of being weird.

"For Our Elegant Caste," which opens with the ickilly personal confession, "We can do it softcore if you want, but you know I do it both ways," comes close to simulating a conventional pop song, but "An Eluardian Instance" is the album's highlight–this is the one song that doesn't truly suffer from a lack of focus because Barnes hones his playful vision and creates a song even Bowie would find himself humming.

–Arye Dworken
10.13.08

During the closing moments of 2007's Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, bandleader Kevin Barnes introduced his alter ego, an effeminate singer by the name of Georgie Fruit. One year later, that character runs amok on Skeletal Lamping, having wrenched the spotlight away from Barnes' sugary pop and trained it on an ambitious hybrid of glam rock, experimental R&B, and Scissor Sisters-styled sex-funk. Barnes sounds truly uninhibited under the Fruit guise, making declarations like "I'm just a black she-male!" with flamboyant confidence. Such a shift in direction marks Of Montreal's ascent into the psychedelic clouds where Ziggy Stardust once flew, only this time, the listener catches a ride on the back of a transgendered Prince fanatic whose songs are fragmented and confusing, yet still peppered with irresistible hooks. Like the album's cover art (an origami-influenced billfold whose flaps unfurl to form a giant floral display), Skeletal Lamping demands attention by being purposely puzzling. The music is extravagant and elaborate; each song is comprised of multiple vignettes, many of them completely different in style, and each track spills into the next. It's interesting to watch the pieces fit together -- to pinpoint the exact second where one song ends and another one begins. But whether or not you enjoy Skeletal Lamping depends on your tolerance for unchecked ambition and left-field experimentation, both of which are emphasized here. Of Montreal have rarely sounded so free, so unrestrained, but this is a love-it-or-lump-it album, a polarizing effort that -- depending on personal preference -- is either irresistibly attractive or overzealously pretentious. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide