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Following the loss of two members and the collapse of their record label, multi-instrumentalist and band leader Kevin Barnes took it into his own hands to pull the strings on Satanic Panic in the Attic. By writing and recording most of the record himself, his personality shines through more so than on previous releases, resulting in a shift of direction for the band when compared to prior benchmarks of their discography, such as The Gay Parade. “Lysergic Bliss” is a choice cut that echoes the qualities of the album quite well, beginning with a lazy, warm, summer pop jangle,before the song is interrupted half way through by a woman’s voice: “Gentlemen, remember your breathing, 1, 2, 3, 4.." Similarly, in “Spike the Senses”, the otherwise tame pop number is pulled off course into a throbbing, brief, psychedelic interlude that injects a newfound life into the end of the song. It’s from one end straight to the other and they're brave moves that Barnes pulls off with well earned songwriting maturity (with five LPs already under his belt at this point).
What this release most importantly represents, however, is the shift of direction that Barnes has taken that has lifted his songs above Sgt. Pepper tributes and to a place that feels far more individual. His influences are still clearly evident, but this is a sound that has become distinctly Of Montreal’s. Some of this can be attributed to the lyrics, which are decidedly more melancholy and coherent than on previous, more lyrically obscure releases. For example, lyrics off the softly strummed “City Bird” are among the most beautiful Barnes has ever written: “City bird, haven’t you heard / of the boundlessness of your freedom?” His sentiments are backed up by the music, with "My British Tour Diary" feeling as whimsical and tongue-in-cheek as the lines he delivers: "Every single one of our London cabbies played / The most truly repellent techno music ever made".
That Satanic Panic in the Attic ends up as self-indulgent as it is, at times, makes some amount of sense considering the brain that produced it. This is sun-soaked psychedelic pop for the connoisseurs.
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point of reference - this is kevin barnes at a show:
[IMG]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7Rl07Hg9msc/SPEb1i5BGTI/AAAAAAAADdY/bX6JstmJfA4/s400/13KevinBarnes.JPG[/IMG]
| | | is that a real horse
| | | you bet your ass its a real horse
| | | you think they carry that in their tour van/bus?
i first heard this band just after this album dropped back in '04 son how crazy is that
| | | nothing wrong with blink, but i don't know how you were still listening to them in '04 as they were starting to slip at that point. i listened to them in '00
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
aawwww look a 'personal' record.
This is their best tho, hands down -- still want to see them live like a mofo.
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nothing wrong with blink, but i don't know how you were still listening to them in '04 as they were starting to slip at that point. i listened to them in '00
well i was 14 and not robertsona so it was all i really knew. that and nofx.
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
this is easily my favorite of montreal record - most stuff before this is run-of-the-mill elephant 6 stuff and after sundlandic they just went off the fucking deep end. great record/review nils
| | | Erroneous Escape Into Erik Eckles is all i know from this and it rules
| | | woah rudy, a five! you just keep surprising me
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
ya know, Kirgasm, I can't keep making fun of you if you keep taking all the fun out of it...
did you see them on the tour for this album?
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Oh and Rudy, 'The Gay Parade' is 'run-of-the-mill' if by that you mean it's a standard for the E6 sound.
| | | i think they were touring for hissing fauna, yeti!
| | | Album Rating: 5.0
yes, i meant that exactly yeti
and yes this is one of my favorite records ever, really turned me onto the psychedelic indie-pop sound in 10th grade
| | | nice review, never got really into of montreal much though
also contributor
| | | oh, sweet, that mustve just happened
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
^ Oh fuck, just saw that!
Highfive!
| | | I've heard the twins album and it was really pleasant but not really engaging. More listens could fix that though
congratulations congratulations
| | | never could get into Of Montreal. I remember a pitchfork article a couple years back about Barnes
doing a show naked in vegas. eccentric motherfucker.
edit: i found the link, but don't want to get banned so yeah.
| | | he strikes me as a much more self-assured and mentally unstable bradford cox
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