Album review: Of Montreal, 'False Priest'
2 stars (out of 4)
The prolific Kevin Barnes, the Athens, Ga., songwriter prone to appearing in outrageous costumes on stage (or sometimes wearing nothing at all), brings a blast of much-needed flamboyance to frequently staid, self-serious indie rock. But his glammed-up, low-rent Gaga routine (before there was even a Lady Gaga to reference) can be bewildering, making his persona and music a love-it or hate-it proposition. There’s no middle ground with Barnes, and “False Priest” (Polyvinyl), his 10th studio album in his Of Montreal guise, isn’t destined to change anyone’s mind.
It’s a typically dense affair, but the excesses of its 2008 predecessor,"Skeletal Lamping,” have been trimmed and edited into relative coherence. Credit producer Jon Brion (a heavyweight soundtrack composer and Kanye West collaborator) for clearing out the clutter, and replacing some of Barnes’ fussy laptop creations with elegant, old-school studio orchestrations. The hooks are more pronounced and the bottom end beefed up, which gives Barnes’ R&B leanings a lot more dancefloor appeal and makes songs such as the buttery Solange duet “Sex Karma” sound better than anything Prince has come up with in years.
But the affectations remain troubling, from Barnes’ over-reliance on vocal falsetto to his mannered lyrics. He toggles between gibberish and smut, self-loathing and smack talk, but never quite manages to sound sincere. In “Like a Tourist” he flips a switch with each verse, turning on his Prince scream, then a Freddie Mercury wail, a David Bowie croon, even a Gary Numan robot monotone. Yes, the scenery is sometimes a wonder to behold, but Barnes is still just a tourist passing through.
greg@gregkot.com
The prolific Kevin Barnes, the Athens, Ga., songwriter prone to appearing in outrageous costumes on stage (or sometimes wearing nothing at all), brings a blast of much-needed flamboyance to frequently staid, self-serious indie rock. But his glammed-up, low-rent Gaga routine (before there was even a Lady Gaga to reference) can be bewildering, making his persona and music a love-it or hate-it proposition. There’s no middle ground with Barnes, and “False Priest” (Polyvinyl), his 10th studio album in his Of Montreal guise, isn’t destined to change anyone’s mind.
It’s a typically dense affair, but the excesses of its 2008 predecessor,"Skeletal Lamping,” have been trimmed and edited into relative coherence. Credit producer Jon Brion (a heavyweight soundtrack composer and Kanye West collaborator) for clearing out the clutter, and replacing some of Barnes’ fussy laptop creations with elegant, old-school studio orchestrations. The hooks are more pronounced and the bottom end beefed up, which gives Barnes’ R&B leanings a lot more dancefloor appeal and makes songs such as the buttery Solange duet “Sex Karma” sound better than anything Prince has come up with in years.
But the affectations remain troubling, from Barnes’ over-reliance on vocal falsetto to his mannered lyrics. He toggles between gibberish and smut, self-loathing and smack talk, but never quite manages to sound sincere. In “Like a Tourist” he flips a switch with each verse, turning on his Prince scream, then a Freddie Mercury wail, a David Bowie croon, even a Gary Numan robot monotone. Yes, the scenery is sometimes a wonder to behold, but Barnes is still just a tourist passing through.
greg@gregkot.com