Of Montreal - False Priest

Taylor's Choice:

Of Montreal - False Priest

Hipster Review:

My first exposure to Of Montreal, the 2007 near-classic Hissing Fauna Are You The Destroyer?, was one of the most mind-bending, pervertedly enjoyable listening experiences of my life. Even today the album holds a special place in my heart, and through delving deeper into their discography I've gained a better understanding of the band, and the changes they've made over the years are astounding. Since the aforementioned album they've stuck to a distinct sound that has made them the unique band that they are today; a combination of danceable, disco-esque beats, funky Beatle-esque basslines, blaring synths, Kevin Barnes' hilariously garish vocals, and astoundingly abstract, ridiculously sexual lyrical themes.
Their last album, 2008's Skeletal Lamping, while highly enjoyable, was an incredibly indulgent album, and oftentimes feels exhausting to listen to. False Priest continues this wild approach, but it feels a bit more tame than the last one. Albeit, it's still crazier music than that of any other band's today, but for Of Montreal, the album is a bit of a letdown because it feels... too safe. A number of little decisions here feel tacked on and ill-conceived, like Solange Knowles' guest spot on "Sex Karma," one of the album's weaker songs. The production here is also a lot less adventurous, and while a lot of the songs still carry that signature Of Montreal spirit, some (especially near the end) feel draggy instead of lively. And listening to the album reveals another unpleasant fact: This post-Hissing Fauna sound is starting to lose steam. While there are sparks of newness during parts of the album, one can only hope that those are seeds being planted for the band to reinvent themselves again on the next album. Even the album's highs feel lesser then on previous albums, and the lows, while small in number, feel pretty lacking. 2005's The Sunlandic Twins saw the group blossoming into something beautiful by scraping off bits of their old sound and injecting newer elements, and that album felt weaker compared to the previous stunner Satanic Panic In the Attic; maybe False Priest, like Sunlandic Twins, is an embryonic album, a slight promise of things to come.
Despite my somewhat cold commentary, I still enjoyed the album. It's fun and crazy just like Of Montreal's other works, but on it Kevin Barnes sacrifices some of the artistic restraint (for lack of a better word, probably not the right one for a guy like him) that made previous albums so stunning. Disappointing for sure, but not lacking in enjoyability.

Hipster Rating:

7.0

Friend Review:

Hey-o!

I feel like I hold a lot of unpopular opinions regarding music (Make Believe is a pretty good album, Loveless is unlistenable, Third Eye Blind’s self-titled album is amazing… Actually, these are pretty much just things where I disagree with Taylor, I have no idea how they survive in general… ‘cept the Make Believe thing, everyone hates that album and I’m not sure why), and this theory holds true with Of Montreal. Many moons ago, I asked Taylor for some new music to listen to and he told me to check out Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? I immediately asked him what I did to wrong him in such a way that he would suggest that album to me. Apparently everyone loves that album, I dunno man. But anyways, I kinda developed this opinion that Of Montreal is weird, flamboyant, bright, vivid, and generally obnoxious. Generally, this holds true for False Priest. However, contrary to how negative my words may seem, I don’t find this album awful. It’s definitely not my cup of tea, so if you’re the kind of person who tends to side with me more than Taylor I doubt you will really enjoy this album. If you dig Of Montreal’s past stuff, who knows. I heard this album is less electronic than their past stuff (man, who knows what I’d have given this if it was super electronic) so y’know, keep that in mind. My favorite track was “Famine Affair”, probably the most “normal” of the bunch. Which says a lot about me more than anything. I also really loved “Our Riotous Defects”, particularly the speaking parts which is a bit strange of me. Anyways, feel free to give this a shot, but prepared for in-your-face pop with hyperactive vocals and bright music. If this music could be visually represented, it’d be represented by a rainbow in the background with fireworks in the foreground.

“X of the Year” post tomorrow!

Friend Rating:

6.8

Coming up next, Hurley by Weezer!

Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III)

Taylor's Choice:

Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III)

Hipster Review:

I remember reading about Janelle Monae in Spin magazine (back when I wasted my time reading magazines) a few years back. The piece consisted of her talking about art and the impact that it had made on her throughout her life. She also stated her belief that music was an art form with the potential "to change the world". While this usually is a generally pretentious statement made by musicians to show off, listening to Monae's music reveals that she means it when she says it. Her music is expansive, (other)worldly, risky, and celebratory. She pushes musical boundaries not simply because she can, but because she aims to push herself and to allow her music to reach as many people as possible. She might succeed too: the music on ArchAndroid goes left and right, taking influence from funk, soul, classical music, swing, folk, art rock, and hip-hop to make a unique blend of pop music so dense, it makes a rock look like sponge cake. But unlike some high-shooter projects that go for quantity rather than quality, The ArchAndroid benefits from Monae's ability to limit her ideas and stop when she needs to (granted, the album is nearly 70 minutes long, but only three songs go past the four-minute mark, and very few of them drag). The guest appearances by Big Boi and Of Montreal are some of the album's high points, particularly the single "Tightrope," where Monae's funky side shows best. Overall, The ArchAndroid is an ambitious, messy (in a good way), and incredibly exciting album. Experience it at your own caution - but don't let it stop you from enjoying it.

Hipster Rating:

8.7

Friend Review:

Alright, so Janelle Monae (I’m just gonna type her name normally without that goofy accent over the “a” because those things are a pain to put in and you guys know what I mean)is another act I haven’t really heard of but I gave it a listen and like always came up with some opinions. I’ll go ahead and start with the high points. Two tracks, “Cold War” and “Tightrope” are very enjoyable to listen to. The fast tempos and Monae’s impressive vocals keep the listener interested throughout the entire song. Like I’ve mentioned in previous posts, these two tracks would be very fun to drum along to because they offer many chances for experimentation. Then there is “Come Alive (The War of the Roses)”. This track is an absolute gem. The instrumentation is just about perfect, one of the grooviest bass lines I’ve ever heard and jazzy drums create one spicy tamale to dance along to. The shrieking guitars intertwining with Monae’s passion-filled screams is in all honesty one of the best tracks I’ve heard all year. While these three are very impressive tracks, they do not make up for the slower parts of the album. First off, at a running time of an hour and eight minutes, the album is about twenty minutes too long. I could do without the two overtures which I think would be more appropriate in a Star Wars soundtrack. Maybe they’re necessary for the “album structure”, but whatever, I didn’t dig them. Anytime Monae feels like slowing things down a bit it drags on far too long and gets boring very quickly. The vocal distortion or tuning or whatever the crap is going on in “Mushrooms & Roses” is absolutely painful to listen to. The few good songs on this album don’t make up for the long boring parts.

Friend Rating:

5.5

Coming up on next, Champ by Tokyo Police Club!

Erykah Badu- New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh)

Taylor's Choice:

Erykah Badu- New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh)

Hipster Review:

Return of The Ankh is Eykah Badu’s fifth studio album and the second part in her New Amerykah saga. In contrast to her previous album Third World War, which was strongly political in tone, Return Of The Ankh is lyrically introspective, reflecting on love and other personal themes. Also, whereas that album was musically all-over-the-place, mainly drawing from funk and electronica, this record finds Badu returning to her soul-rooted sound, using both sampling and live instrumentation. But whereas previous albums such as Mama’s Gun were musically sparse, Ankh is sonically dense, and most tracks find Badu experimenting with her sound palette much like on her previous outing. This density brings great warmth to the music, in a way that previous releases have lacked. And the lovelorn lyrics make the album all the more inviting, calling you to explore Badu’s world and enjoy every minute. While there are moments on the album that stray too far into indulgence (most noticeably in the 10-minute finale “Out My Mind, Just In Time”), the experience as a whole is extremely enjoyable. I found this to be one of the best records I’ve heard so far this year, and I look forward to more trips into Badu’s Amerykah.

Hipster Rating:

8.7

Friend Review:

I gotta say, R&B is not a familiar genre to me. In fact, I think this might be my first real experience with it. Regardless, one of the reasons I wanted to do this blog in

the first place was to discover new music so what better way to open it than to review something completely new to me

The first thing I noticed while listening to this voice was Erykah Badu’s voice. It’s… kinda whiny. Maybe it’s just me, but this was a thing I could not get past. There was no point in the album where I was simply wow’d by her singing, it almost seemed detrimental to the album. The reason I say this is because at many points in the album the instrumentation in fantastic. I would kill for my drums to sound the way ?uestlove’s do on “Window Seat”. The piano has a great jazzy sound in just about every song that it’s featured in. There is one thing that I’ve found R&B is useful for: throughout the entire album I was imagining myself drumming along. Many of these songs will become a staple in my jams at home, and because of that, this album will remain on my iPod. However, I can’t imagine myself ever listening to one of these songs without being behind a kit. I found many parts of the album to be cheesy, particularly the whole “sonic” sound Badu said she was trying to go for. In relation to this, the album seemed too “sample-happy”. The point I noticed this in was “Umm Hmm” when it felt like part of the time when she sampled “Take Some Time” by Ndugu & The Chocolate Jam Co. it just didn’t match up with the song. Also, it seems that the album at times drags on. “Fall In Love (Your Funeral)” and “Out My Mind, Just In Time” seemed like they would never end. Besides “Window Seat” which was quite nice (despite the controversial video), there were really no gems on the album; it all just seemed like background music that you would feel but not actually notice.

Unfortunately, I will likely not listen to this album again in its entirety. To me, all it’s good for is its use as a drum-along track. Despite my complaints of the album, however, it was not terrible. There is nothing in it to make me hate Erykah Badu or R&B as a whole. It simply was not my cup o’ tea; and for that I will give it a very average score.

Friend Rating:

5.0

Coming up on Wednesday, "Survival Story" by Flobots!