Regrettably Yours, Alex or Taylor

Dear Humans and Undead,

          Through this week of the Zombie Apocalypse, we have been sampling music from a lesser-known band that goes by the name: of Montreal. This week we review their newest release “False Priest,” featuring Janelle Monae and Solange Knowles. Please enjoy over a plate of delicious brains.

Alex’s Zombiefied Insights:

          If you were to ask me what of Montreal sounded like, I would tell you, “It’s kind of similar to MGMT with a bit of Crystle Castles, Michael Jackson and ’80s synth pop … but at the same time it is not. You have to listen to it yourself and see if you like it.” I went to their concert Oct. 25. Like the band, the concert was an experience that is hard to describe but entertaining and unlike any other. Luckily, with “False Priest,” they have released one of their most easily accessible CDs.

After the first track, “I Feel Ya Strutter,” the album picks up speed with “Our Riotous Defects,” where Kevin Barnes’ catchy choruses stick in your head and the danceable bass lines create a perfect dance scene where you lose yourself in the music. Most of the CD is a dance party where you find yourself fist-pumping and singing along to seemingly odd lines of “you are such a crazy girl,” and “Coquet Coquette, how can I forget? The way you kissed me twice to prove you were mythical.”

The music itself is bright and poppy but upon examination of the lyrics, there are moments where Barnes’ high-pitched singing is dark and borders insanity. The band sometimes breaks into dark psychedelic sidetracks that drag you out of your safety zone and into some places of the human psyche that you might not want to go.

With dark tracks like “Godly Intersex,” “A Girl Named Hello,” “Famine Affair” and “Casualty of You,” of Montreal begs you to listen to the beautifully weird poetry of Barnes’ lyrics of relationships and life.

of Montreal is a band so diverse, it is hard to explain the complexities in the music without actually listening to it. I would recommend listening to “Coquet Coquette,” first and then the entire album “False Priest,” then moving to “Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?” if you enjoy it.

Bottom Line: “False Priest” is an album that symbolizes the life of the party and has its own highs and lows. If you like synth-pop and want to explore the human psyche, get this album. This album is great, amazing, and is something you can listen to again and again, either to dance uncontrollably or to pick out the stunning details in the lyrics.

I give “False Priest” an outstanding 9.603 out of 10.

Taylor is smarter than Alex and you should disregard his review. Here is Taylor’s much better review of “False Priest.”

I’ve never really liked of Montreal, so I never really had any interest in listening to an entire album. So when Alex told me he wanted to review “False Priest,” of Montreal’s newest album, I was reluctant. This was the first time I ever actually listened to every song on one of their albums. My opinion of them only slightly changed.

          It’s not so much the instrumental portion of the song that dissuades me but more the singing. It’s not that Kevin Barnes, the singer and songwriter for of Montreal, has a bad voice, it just feels like the notes he is singing don’t really fit with the instrumentation.

Also, many of the harmonies seem to clash with everything, including the vocal part they’re supposed to be helping. When there are no vocals, or one of the girl singers of the band is singing, I actually really enjoy “False Priest.” For example, at the end of “The Riotous Defects” it progresses into a cool kind of zone-out with an interesting melody line, but even there, this great little moment begins to be ruined by Barnes’ harmonies. The few times throughout “False Priest” that I actually think to myself “this is really cool” seem to be the times when of Montreal doesn’t really sound like of Montreal.

          It’s possible the reason I don’t really like this album or this band is because my style of music falls more under the “easy listening” side of the indie music scene such as Sufjan Stevens, Death Cab for Cutie, etc. of Montreal is just too weird for me, and “False Priest” doesn’t ease my opinion of them as I was hoping it would. Of the entire 13-track album I only listened to five tracks all the way through. I just couldn’t handle it. I give this album, and the band, a thumbs down.

So whether you decide to check out “False Priest” or not, we encourage you to keep on truckin’. Keep listening to great music, keep exploring new things, and have fun up here at Utah State.

Regrettably Yours,

Alex or Taylor

If you have a CD or anything that you would like Alex and Taylor to review, please email us at alexander.h.van_oene@aggiemail.usu.edu. We would love to hear from anyone who reads this. Anyone. Even if you hate it. Please talk to us. Talk to us. Now.