The Early Four Track Recordings (Of Montreal)

Chronique

Of Montreal's The Early Four Track Recordings collects unreleased, lo-fi material from the archives of the band's vibrant and dynamic frontman, Kevin Barnes. With songs predating Of Montreal's inception as a full band, the collection is playfully (re)named as a song-by-song series of goofy events involving Dustin Hoffman, although the tracks are clearly drawn together from several different recording sessions. The stripped-down indie pop tunes vary in tempo and mood, indicative of the musical and lyrical flexibility that Barnes would develop with his bandmates in the albums to come. Tracks such as "Dustin Hoffman Gets a Bath" and "Dustin Hoffman Scrubs Too Hard and Loses Soap" feature the Beatlesque, slightly off-kilter chord progressions and lyrics established in Of Montreal's charming debut album, Cherry Peel, while later in the collection "Dustin Hoffman's Wife Makes a Sarcastic Remark..." hints at the sweet, wacky instrumentation and subject matter that brought popular and critical success to the band's fourth album, The Gay Parade. At other moments, however, the collection is bogged down by the dull, monotone meanderings of "Dustin Hoffman Feigns Ignorance of Missing Bathtub" and "Dustin Hoffman's Children Don't Enter the Bathroom." To committed fans, the insight into Barnes' early development as an innovative songwriter is generous, but on the whole, The Early Four-Track Recordings does not add tremendous value to Of Montreal's discography. The collection works well enough as a stand-alone release of lo-fi pop, but to get a more accurate sense of Of Montreal's zealous and adept sound in a non-album form, listeners would be better advised to seek out the singles collection Horse and Elephant Eatery (No Elephants Allowed).

© Michelle Cross /TiVo