Multi-instrumentalist Kevin Barnes has been at the top of his game for some
years now, releasing new music every year since of Montreal's inception back in
1997. Barnes' love of the synclavier took of Montreal's 11th studio album into
an experimental pop / psychedelic pop status rather than the indie pop of
Montreal's previous albums are noticed for. The twee sounds of Satanic Panic
in the Attic still make appearances, but not in the same manner as last
year's Paralytic Stalks. Barnes' 11 album discography showcases his
falsetto vocal, 'asthmatic energy', and down to earth lyricism. Take
"Spiteful Intervention" from Paralytic Stalks, one of the most
magical and imagery filled tracks of 2012: "It's fucking sad
that we need a tragedy to occur to gain a fresh perspective in our lives.
Nothing happens for a reason, there's no point even pretending you know the sad
truth as well as I." We're here to dissect of Montreal's 12th
studio album Lousy with Sylvianbriar - to work out if Barnes' child
of Montreal is the psychedelic experimental up to date version of Bowie's Ziggy
Stardust period, or just 'music for flaccid puritanical sex hating half
humans'.
Drew Vandenberg returns to produce Lousy with Sylvianbriar after the
sounding success of last year's Paralytic Stalks. Vandenberg's goal this
time around is to achieve clarity and sophistication heard with his work on
Deerhunter's Halycon Digest, but the nostalgic realism of 60s/70s
recording techniques. This period of music has long been associated with of
Montreal's sound. Barnes and his new found friends Rebecca Cash (vocals),
Clayton Rychlik (drums, vocals), Jojo Glidewell (keys), Bob Parins (pedal
steel, bass), and Bennet Lewis (guitars, mandolin) recorded Lousy with
Sylvianbriar in just three weeks on a 24-track tape machine. He re-located
to San Francisco, perhaps for a holiday, perhaps to live, whatever the reason,
Barnes used it as an influence not just on his sound, but on his song-writing
as heard with the opening track "Fugitive Air". The fog city psychedelia
has been reciprocated with layered guitars and out of the ordinary percussion a
la The Oh Sees. Barnes sings: "I'm a walking mausoleum, the scent of
rotting flesh, mother always loved you best, liked your teeth upon her
breast." His thought-provoking lyricism makes a return, with bigger demand on Lousy with Sylvianbriar. It makes for a devouring
listen, requiring attention - "Obsidian Currents" opens with: "You
like to think that you can live beyond good and evil, amputated from humanity
on some lifelong intellectual retreat, everything is conceptual and all is rhetorical,
you can feel so powerful, when you’re forced to face the physical world, you
scurry like an insect."
Lousy with Sylvianbriar's first sound of a hit comes on the third
track "Belle Glade Missionaries". Blues guitar dominates the
instrumental with a croaky vocal fit for Black Francis. Barnes sings: "Belle
Glade missionaries I’m here to steal your cocaine," continuing the
unique vision Barnes' possesses when opening tracks. It continues down this long
stretch of literary references and youthful expectations: "I have a
sense you wanna be, the female Henry Miller - cynically referring to your
lovers as your pricks and exploiting other peoples madness."
Barnes loves to express his opinions through the medium of music, writing
fantastic songs to evoke a sheer sense of strangeness, he makes you think, he
makes you listen: "All the evil in the universe, there are no
victims, only participants."
"Colossus" tells the sad story of a sibling and his/her family
life: "Your mother hung herself in the national theatre, when she
was four months pregnant with your sister, would have been 13 years old today,
does that make you feel any less alone in the world? / Your dad I’m sure he
tried his best, he thought you’d be better off living with your grandmother, he
didn’t realise that she'd already given up, baby your family they are just
losers." No singer-songwriter dares to go the extra mile to describe
life in such detail as Barnes. He's always had a personal touch in his
song-writing, but nothing as in depth as Lousy with Sylvianbriar. "Colossus"
and it’s terrifying lyricism are backed by a mournful sounding piano and light
acoustic guitar accompaniment. Barnes is backed by Cash on the vocals,
somewhat different to Barnes' self-relying singular vocals with layers and
delay. It gives "Colossus" that extra feminine touch, making the
story sound distinguishable. These small changes allow Barnes to experiment from
his multi-instrumental past, giving himself and other musicians around him freedom. There
are no changes to Barnes opening lyricism however. "Triumph of Disintegration" has an ever-changing structure, a 'two songs in one' sort of
structure. It’s not heavily reliant on a verse/chorus/verse structure. Instead
the verse/chorus/verse universal song understanding has been replaced by an
instrumental one/instrumental two/instrumental one structure. And it wouldn’t
be right without a chaotic opening lyric, Barnes sings: "The last 10
days have been a motherfucker, I didn’t know if I’d survive."
This unconventional song structure re-occurs on "She Aint Speakin' Now". It begins with a western-esque guitar riff and the bumpy bass
associated with of Montreal's past. Suddenly, all the smooth sounds such as an acoustic
guitar and a slide guitar disappear for a distorted acoustic guitar and a
thumping drum beat. Barnes then goes on to sing in the personalised style of
Ray Davies of The Kinks, and the music isn't too far off that poppy garage rock
sound either. These structures make for great songs because you never quite
know when Barnes is about to drop something spectacularly different. He does this on the
following track "Hegira Émigr", the confusing, reference heavy ninth
track. In name, "Hegira Émigr" is referencing the migration of
Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina, to avoid assassination.
Though the opening lyrics tell a different story, one of punk? Perhaps: "Up
in the hills they are having a white riot, with no violence or protest for
change, they simply buy it." Part of this references the Notting
Hill riots in London, and perhaps a coy nod to The Clash's "White
Riot" and the lyric: "All the power's in the hands of people
rich enough to buy it." The following lyrics are just as
confusing: "If you're thinking I’m Caucasian, well I’m actually
grey, I was conceived on Ash Wednesday and stoned on Christmas day."
The instrumental is bubbly, featuring a 50s-esque rhythm and beat, making
"Hegira Émigr" the easiest Lousy with Sylvianbriar track to
secretly dance to. It's also the most confusing lyrically - his imagery
is so bizarre, it's all over the place: "She gave him head till she lost
a tooth, that’s what you get for molesting people in the DJ booth."
Cash sings lead vocals on "Raindrop in My Skull", the cool,
refreshingly light penultimate track. She sings, like Barns, in a spoken word
form, to confusingly acute lyrics: "My guitar feels strange in my
hands, I have almost no tucked up perceptions, on the TV there’s a Mexican
horror film, it isn’t dubbed, I’m not really watching." There's
always a free-form style of delivering lyrics with of Montreal. It's never
simple, although simple rhyming does occur throughout of Montreal's discography.
The lyrics just flow in a story-telling manner for listeners to hear the full
picture without needless rhyming. N.B, these lyrics make me want to watch
Cronos, the immense horror film directed by Guillermo del Toro.
From the vocal harmonies of "Sirens of Your Toxic Spirit" to the
blues riff on "Belle Glade Missionaries", Lousy with Sylvianbriar honours
of Montreal's past and looks to a nostalgic future with a new line-up and an
old sound. The focus on lyricism is welcomed, with a touch of glam still
present on tracks "Hegira Émigr" and "Amphibian Days".
Behind this, there has been immense confusion surrounding the album title
Lousy with Sylvianbriar. It was initially in lower-case, including the
track listing, but has since returned to the correct grammatical connotation.
Instead of perceived imagery or understanding, Barnes was more than likely
taking a stand about how fans/critics list of Montreal as Of Montreal. He has a
sense of correctness, and releasing an album all in lower-case is a role
reversal confusing critics, just as they confuse Barnes by not writing of
Montreal correctly - that’s just my assumption. Barnes can do whatever he wants
with non-important grammar, as long as he keeps releasing music à la Lousy
with Sylvianbriar, fans will be happy, critics will be happy, and I’ll be
happy.
~Eddie
8.3
