Of Montreal

Of Montreal leader Kevin Barnes has never seemed to suffer from a shortage of ideas, as evidenced by the sprawl of albums and miscellany his band has released over the past decade-plus. He was on a serious roll heading into last year's Skeletal Lamping, but the filter-free album at times resembled a wild pitch getting away from an ace pitcher. Still, there was much to enjoy–but clearly no one around to raise an eyebrow at his overindulgences; tellingly, the liner notes contain this credit: "All songs composed, performed, engineered and mixed by Kevin Barnes…except for some help from" the other members of Of Montreal. "Some help?" This isn't a king and his collaborative court–it's a king and some trusty field hands.

On the Jon Brion Remix EP, the famed producer to the singer/songwriter stars (Aimee Mann, Fiona Apple, Robyn Hitchcock, um, Kanye West) takes away the reins and applies his own typically trademark touch to two songs: "An Eluardian Instance" (two versions) and "Gallery Piece" (three versions).

Brion fares best with "An Eluardian Instance," which he re-dubs "First Time High." His "Reconstructionist Remix" keeps a respectful closeness to the source material, tweaking slightly to emphasize the hooks and the reflective vocal. It has a little less zip than the album version, but comes across with more warmth. The more radical departure–radical in its simplicity–is the "Chicago Acoustic Version," which emphasizes a key point about Barnes: dramatic flourishes are a signature piece of his persona and his songs, but the songs wouldn't go anywhere without the pristine pop sensibilities lurking underneath. An all-acoustic EP–especially of a kitchen sink album like Skeletal Lamping–would likely have been more interesting than the final product here.

The disco throb of "Gallery Piece" wasn't a highlight on the album, and three renditions here feels a bit much. Brion surely had fun with his straight remix, amplifying its dance delirium. It's effective enough one time, but then he extends it over eight minutes for the "Long Version," then shows Barnes who's boss by cutting him out of the mix altogether for a closing instrumental take. And then that's it. It's not often that "anticlimactic" applies to Of Montreal–but it fits the bill here.

—Adam McKibbin
02.11.09

Tracks from Skeletal Lamping are given the remix treatment on this EP, which pairs Of Montreal's hyperactive pop music with Jon Brion's Grammy-nominated production. "An Eluardian Instance," perhaps the most accessible song on the band's previous album, provides the basis for two remixes under the name "First Time High," while "Gallery Piece" is molded into three distinct versions. Brion's remixes turn the latter song into a club-worthy anthem, adding trance percussion and thick, fat synthesizers to each version. Meanwhile, an acoustic adaptation of "First Time High" highlights Kevin Barnes' multi-tracked harmonies with a tidy heap of guitars, mandolins, and assorted string instruments. Stripped of the candy-coated keyboards that coat the original, this remix brings Of Montreal's songwriting to the forefront, demonstrating the pop hooks and solid craftsmanship that remain at the core of even the most elaborate arrangements. The rest of the brief EP doesn't shed much light on the band -- this is a Jon Brion vehicle, after all, and he makes sure his presence is felt -- but existing fans may take interest in the various interpretations of Skeletal Lamping's material. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide