Music: Of Montreal "Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?"

I've been a fan of Of Montreal since I saw them on their tour supporting Aldhils Arboretum in early 2003. I immediately became engrossed in the world of Barnes, Kevin Barnes' whimsical world of miniature philophers, boxers, old people in cemetaries, girls named April with problems, those lovely brothers Joseph and Alexander, Jennifer Louise, Penelope, Natalie and Effie, and army kids. Aldhils and the four albums that preceeded it became everything I knew about Of Montreal and everything I thought I would ever know.

Then Satanic Panic in the Attic came out. And I was/am a huge fan. The band's foray into electro pop ("Disconnect the Dots" and "Rapture Rapes the Muses") were standout tracks, but I still loved the new sounding Of Montreal of old ("My British Tour Diary" and "Eros' Entropic Tundra"). This became the first album by them that I could listen to from beginning to end. Flawless. Except "City Bird" which I could never get behind. I don't like slow jams

So that was, good, glad they got that highly produced thing out of their system, get back to using xylophones and oboes. Then The Sunlandic Twins came out. Okay. The songs on here made "Rapture Rapes the Muses" sound like Joni Mitchell. Still, "So Begins Our Alabee' and "The Party's Crashing Us" are great songs. The album itself was not as coherent as Satanic Panic, but surely now Kevin had gotten the electro pop bug out of him.

Then a strange thing happened. The band had songs on MTV, in Outback commercials, and people everywhere started knowing who Of Montreal were. People who didn't realize that "the Antarctica song" was, in fact, from their ninth studio release. There was a huge back catalogue of material that didn't feature synths! A huge back catalogue that has since been shelved from the band's live performance to make way for the last two albums

When I found a copy of this album in "The Late Show" free box back in early October, I was elated. Upon first listen, though, I was disappointed. This is Of Montreal now. Three albums of dancey funk marks a permanent change of style. Satanic Panic, the album I still hold as their finest, can now be seen as the end of the band's whimsy. Goodbye Brian Wilson, hello Prince.

This immediate disappiontment caused me to almost write the band off. I viewed the funk slink of "Faberge Falls for Shuggie" with a cynical gaze, same went for the sex kitten in heat vocals of "Labyrinthian Pomp". Oh well. This album's okay.

Over the course of three and a half months, certain songs grew on me, others I couldn't differentiate from others. Then I read Pitchfork's album review and had an epiphany (I love reading album reviews, mainly because they open my eyes up to viewpoints that I just can't arrive to on my own). This is a breakup album. An upbeat breakup album. I won't go into the perfect timing of this realization and events in my life, but upon listening to the album again it became a lot stronger.

Yes, Kevin Barnes is stuck in his ways and, annoyingly, most of the instrumentation on this album will be played by a computer during their live shows. But that doesn't ruin the listening experience as I sit on the subway with my iPod.

The opening plea of "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse" is so heartbreaking; "I'm in crisis/I need help/Come on mood shift-shift back to good again." The following sonic sugar that follows in the keyboard riff is just the type of pick-me-up one needs after uttering or thinking that line. The structure of the album is also interesting, with the 12-minute epic that falls halfway through the album ("The Past is a Grotesque Animal") serving as a turning point. Prior to this, the songs were upbeat yet focusing on the dissolution of a relationship. This also marks a turning point for Barnes since no songs on this album are the wee little tales that used to be the highlight of any Of Montreal album (or the entire album, like The Gay Parade). After "The Past is a Grotesque Animal," Kevin Barnes begins exploring phase two of the breakup; rebounding. And lots of it. It now makes sense why there's a trio of sex-romps after "Grotesque" followed by the final straw and stab at revenge on "She's A Rejector."

But still, not every song is a highlight. While I like every track, "Sink the Seine" doesn't hold up without the album to put it in context and "Bunny Ain't No Kind of Rider" is enjoyable but repetitive. And while changes in mood and structure are one thing that Of Montreal have not lost over the years, I don't like where "Labyrinthian Pomp" winds up after such a catchy and off kilter beginning.

Now that I've figured it out, this album is a highlight in the Of Montreal canon. I can now put my grief behind me and enjoy the new Of Montreal. Of course, who knows what style Kevin Barnes will decide to tackle next. Since it seems like he's been moving forward through popular music trends, we could be hearing Of Montreal's take on grunge, gangsta rap next. I'd be down with that.

MY SCORE: 7.7 (out of 10)