| Of Montreal certainly have a heralded legacy to follow. Not necessarily there own, but that of the Elephant 6 collective: the famed group of musicians from Athens, Georgia. With modern classics like In The Aeroplane Over The Sea from Neutral Milk Hotel and Dusk At Cubist Castle from Olivia Tremor Control, Elephant 6 is an impressive outfit. Luckily for Of Montreal they have created an album worthy of mention along side such lo-fi wonders.
On Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, the five-piece rarely misses the mark. Sure, the centerpiece, “The Past Is A Grotesque Animal” is a bit too long and “Sink The Siene” is nothing but a tease. All that aside, this album holds up in ways that few others could.
Opener, “Suffer For Fashion” begins with a newborn’s first words before launching into a sonic bloom of the catchiest pop radio will never play. “A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger’s” could be played in baby cribs. “Cato As A Pun” features buzzy synths and sharper hooks, while “Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse” is a simple plea for Kevin Barnes’ brain chemistry to correct itself.
With all that being said, the supreme highlight of the album, “Gronlandic Edit” has a groovy beat and some of the best lines you’ll hear anywhere: “Physics makes us all it’s bitches”, “I guess it would be nice to give my heart to a god, but which one do I choose?” “I guess it would be nice to help in your escape, from patterns your parents designed.”
With Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? Of Montreal have crafted a messy collage of the best kind: one overflowing with melodic ideas and proper execution. It’s the kind of album that almost takes you completely out of your forerunner’s towering shadows. Almost. Reviewed
by: Allen Beavers
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