Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
During the closing moments of 2007's Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, bandleader Kevin Barnes introduced an alter ego, a flamboyant 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 that's tantamount to looking at the adjacent parts of puzzle pieces without standing back to witness the full picture. So while Skeletal Lamping sounds impressive as it unfolds, what ultimately takes shape is a somewhat erratic album, filled with quick flashes of pop melody but mostly devoid of truly realized songs (although several tracks, particularly the buoyant "An Eluardian Instance," do come close). Whether or not one enjoys Skeletal Lamping depends on the listener's tolerance for unchecked ambition and left-field experimentation, both of which are emphasized here to the songs' detriment. Of Montreal have rarely sounded so free, so unrestrained, but Kevin Barnes has also never flaunted lyrics like "I'm so sick of sucking the dick of this cruel, cruel city" and "I want you to be my pleasure-puss, I want to know what it's like to be inside you, I wanna give you that oooh la!" This is a love-it-or-lump-it album, a polarizing effort that -- depending on personal preference -- is either irresistibly attractive or overly pretentious.
© Andrew Leahey /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From £10.83/month
Of Montreal, MainArtist
2008 Polyvinyl Record Co. 2008 Polyvinyl Record Co.
Of Montreal, MainArtist
2008 Polyvinyl Record Co. 2008 Polyvinyl Record Co.
Of Montreal, MainArtist - Kevin Barnes, Lyricist - Apollinaire Rave, MusicPublisher
2008 Polyvinyl Record Co. 2009 Polyvinyl Record Co.
Of Montreal, MainArtist
2008 Polyvinyl Record Co. 2008 Polyvinyl Record Co.
Of Montreal, MainArtist
2008 Polyvinyl Record Co. 2008 Polyvinyl Record Co.
Of Montreal, MainArtist
2008 Polyvinyl Record Co. 2008 Polyvinyl Record Co.
Of Montreal, MainArtist
2008 Polyvinyl Record Co. 2008 Polyvinyl Record Co.
Of Montreal, MainArtist
2008 Polyvinyl Record Co. 2008 Polyvinyl Record Co.
Of Montreal, MainArtist
2008 Polyvinyl Record Co. 2008 Polyvinyl Record Co.
Of Montreal, MainArtist
2008 Polyvinyl Record Co. 2008 Polyvinyl Record Co.
Of Montreal, MainArtist
2008 Polyvinyl Record Co. 2008 Polyvinyl Record Co.
Of Montreal, MainArtist
2008 Polyvinyl Record Co. 2008 Polyvinyl Record Co.
Of Montreal, MainArtist
2008 Polyvinyl Record Co. 2008 Polyvinyl Record Co.
Of Montreal, MainArtist
2008 Polyvinyl Record Co. 2008 Polyvinyl Record Co.
Of Montreal, MainArtist
2008 Polyvinyl Record Co. 2008 Polyvinyl Record Co.
Album review
During the closing moments of 2007's Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, bandleader Kevin Barnes introduced an alter ego, a flamboyant 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 that's tantamount to looking at the adjacent parts of puzzle pieces without standing back to witness the full picture. So while Skeletal Lamping sounds impressive as it unfolds, what ultimately takes shape is a somewhat erratic album, filled with quick flashes of pop melody but mostly devoid of truly realized songs (although several tracks, particularly the buoyant "An Eluardian Instance," do come close). Whether or not one enjoys Skeletal Lamping depends on the listener's tolerance for unchecked ambition and left-field experimentation, both of which are emphasized here to the songs' detriment. Of Montreal have rarely sounded so free, so unrestrained, but Kevin Barnes has also never flaunted lyrics like "I'm so sick of sucking the dick of this cruel, cruel city" and "I want you to be my pleasure-puss, I want to know what it's like to be inside you, I wanna give you that oooh la!" This is a love-it-or-lump-it album, a polarizing effort that -- depending on personal preference -- is either irresistibly attractive or overly pretentious.
© Andrew Leahey /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 15 track(s)
- Total length: 00:57:56
- Main artists: Of Montreal
- Label: Polyvinyl Records
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock Alternative & Indie
2008 Polyvinyl Record Co. 2008 Polyvinyl Record Co.
Improve album informationWhy buy on Qobuz...
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalogue with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.