of Montreal-Skeletal Lamping Review

These ass holes did it again. They managed to follow up the masterpiece Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? with a quirky, trippy hodgepodge of sexual freak funk you’re ever likely to hear. The record isn’t perfect. That much is true. But it’s damn near. Hit the jump for the full review.

I would be lying if I said I didn’t have apprehensions. Everything seemed to be moving in a direction that I didn’t want front man Kevin Barnes to move in. He had repeatedly stated in interviews that Skeletal Lamping would closely resemble the second half of Hissing Fauna, the more experimental freak funk half, under the guise of his on stage persona, Georgie Fruit (a black shemale,) who was birthed during the epic “The Past Is A Grotesque Animal,” the mid-point on Hissing Fauna. It’s not that the songs were bad, they just were not the best on the album. He also went on to say that not many people will understand the record because it was something he had to make. Something personal. Kevin Barnes poured his soul into this record and it shows.

The prevalent theme seems to be sex, as it’s mentioned in nearly every song, and can be quite lurid at times. There’s elements of folk/psych-indie pop/shoegaze/disco/funk/R&B sprinkled throughout the production, but it all feels very natural in Barne’s very competent hands. The album can feel a bit disjointed from the constant shifting that normally occupies a Fiery Furnaces record, but the moment something becomes too abstract, he reigns it back in, creating miniature moments of brilliance. And they’re all over the record. There were times where he would bring up a melody that I wish would have been expanded to a whole song, and if there’s one thing that Barne’s excels at, it’s creating memorable hooks and melodies. He’s a fucking genious at it, if Hissing Fauna is any indication.

The lyrics are less abstract than previous efforts, but remain just as clever. Lines like “he’s the kind of guy who’ll leave you in a K-hole to go play Halo in the other room”show that he can be relevant and clever. Barne’s really steps it up in the vocal department as well, stretching his voice further than it’s ever gone before. He hits a Prince like falsetto in “Wicked Wisdom” and “St. Exquisite’s Confessions,” and even brings back his The Gay Parade voice in “Touched Something’s Hollow.” There’s also a little reference to Sunlandic Twin, as he also referenced this record in Hissing Fauna.

In short, Skeletal Lamping is a very worthy successor to the brilliant Hissing Fauna. It turned out much better than I could have ever imagined, though the album loses a bit of steam toward the back end, and seems to end on a strange song, which leads me to wonder if it’s supposed to tie into the next record. I can’t wait to see where Barne’s takes of Montreal next, as my confidence in him has become unshakable.

Key track: “Women’s Studies Victims”

Of Montreal-Skeletal Lamping

Score: 8.5/10