11-27: Lightning Bolt: Hypermagic Mountain
11-20: Wooden Wand and the Vanishi...: The Flood
10-02: ...: Oboroed/Circus Live...
07-04: Need New Body: Where's Black Ben?
04-09: Caribou: The Milk of Human Kindness
10-13: Sonic Youth: Sonic Nurse
10-13: Things Explod...: It's Never Worked Befor...
10-03: Controller.Controller: History
Music Reviews index


11-09: Three...Extremes
10-19: Battle Royale II
10-04: A History of Violence
08-26: Grizzly Man
08-22: The 40 Year-Old Virgin
08-12: The Dukes of Hazzard
08-05: The Devil's Rejects
08-03: The Island
Movie Reviews index


01-06: List: Best/Worst of 2005: Movies
08-28: List: 2004's 50 Best Albums, Part 2
07-02: List: 2004's Best and Worst Movies
04-20: Article: Mikel Ate That CD
04-20: Interview: Half of the Fiery Furnaces
04-17: List: 2004's 50 Best Albums, Part 1
04-08: List: 2003's 20 Best Albums
Features index


Of Montreal: Satanic Panic in the Attic
Of Montreal
Satanic Panic in the Attic
Polyvinyl: April 06, 2004

83


Of Montreal, with it's longest arm, will grab your skinniest wrist and intravenously inject PureJoy©. Well, I'm no M.D., and can't say if this won't make you grow a third nostril, but I can say it will have beneficial detriments to your ears. With all these body parts flyin' around, it's easy to paint a visceral sonic description of Satanic Panic in the Attic, which, besides having one of the cutest album titles of this year, offers a very cuddly variety of psych-pop. With Satanic Panic in the Attic, Of Montreal makes it's best record yet.

Of Montreal's sound hasn't as much changed as been refined. There is still the fine medley of sixties-ish pop music, featuring some charming tenor vocals that are prone to shatter into la-la-la's. But, surrounding the vocals are an effective barrage of Kinky guitars, dainty keyboardelica, and a macabre of flute-y cello-y melod-y. The centerpiece here, though, is the vocals of songwriter Kevin Barnes, who sings with as much magnetism as any of his contemporaries or even the old-timers he compliments by homage.

Through each track, Barnes either pokes at the harmonious affectations of the Beach Boys, the psychedelics of Sgt. Peppers, or the structure of fellow Elephant 6 kiddies, Olivia Tremor Control. Though, to try to pin down the entire album's sound under those influences would be misguided, for Of Montreal are, here, much more intelligent than a retro-rehash.

Album opener "Disconnect the Dots" begins the record on a electronically charged high note that continues through most of the album in an organic modum operandi. The fourteen tracks are kosher appropriate and filler-lite. "Will You Come and Fetch Me" is the most startlingly Beatles-esque, and stands in especially high form. Other tracks skip and hum-along in distinct variety and light-heartedness, with themes that cover corpse kissing or ladder climbing to loved ones'. There are innumerable gems here, that only take a listen or three to discover. If nothing else, this album will act to gather more believers to The Cause. Which, is to hand over all governmental affairs to the hivemind of the Elephant 6 and one day pledge allegiance to the United States Of Montreal.


quoth Jacob Daley.



1/ Disconnect the Dots
2/ Lysergic Bliss
-> 3/ Will You Come and Fetch Me
-> 4/ My British Tour Diary
5/ Rapture Rapes the Muses
6/ Eros' Entropic Tundra
7/ City Bird
8/ Erroneous Escape into Erik Eckles
9/ Chrissie Kiss the Corpse
10/ Your Magic Is Working
-> 11/ Climb the Ladder
12/ How Lester Lost His Wife
13/ Spike the Senses
14/ Vegan in Furs