| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Jose Jones |
Posted - 02/12/2012 : 11:31:46
here's a lil review i wrote up (and posted on Amazon.com, bitches!!!)
Georgie Fruit leaves center stage and Kevin Barnes takes his place. I, for one, am happy for the change up. I love the last 3 of Montreal albums (False Priest even more-so in light of this new one), but I was afraid the band would cease being of Montreal and simply turn into Georgie Fruit. Thankfully my fears were unfounded. But now I have a new fear: how can Kevin Barnes NOT disappoint me after this new release?
From the sub-bass of the first few seconds of “Gelid Ascent” to the gorgeous “aahhs” of the album’s coda, Paralytic Stalks is relentlessly satisfying. The much ballyhooed “ugliness” and “noise” is really not all that unpleasant. It’s ugly when the lyrics and theme demand it to be ugly. It’s only truly noisy on “Breeding Knife” and part of the final song. If it’s that difficult to appreciate the rest, then why are you listening to of Montreal?
The strength, the accomplishment, of this record is how organically the songs evolve and take the turns they do. The ADD descriptor so often bandied about in of Montreal reviews has no place here. In fact, Skeletal Lamping is the only post-Aldhils Arboretum album that qualifies for it. Sure, Paralytic Stalks has its share of intros, vamps and breakdowns, but they all resolve into the appropriate musical and, yes, melodic passages that Barnes lays out so intentionally. Ideas are not abandoned but rather fleshed-out and built upon. It’s quite exciting to behold (see Radiohead’s “King Of Limbs,” Matthew Dear’s “Black City,” and anything by Deerhoof).
“Wolf Murder,” for instance, turns “there’s blood in my hair” into a glorious sing-along anthem. It builds to (and delivers) an instrumental release based on this refrain. Then there’s the ugly romp at the end of the track that is much more befitting of the lyric. Then take a breather with the breezy “Malefic Dowery.”
“Ye, Renew The Plaintiff” quickly turns into a most satisfactory rocker that takes the time necessary to get the listener fully wrapped up in the intensity of the vocals and guitars. After a guitar solo that takes the reigns from Barnes’ singing, we’re welcomed with a brighter, dancier come-down that is built from the earlier melody, which then morphs into an ever-noisier outro. All of a piece. No ADD here.
Perhaps “Wintered Debts” best illustrates the organic nature of Paralytic Stalks’ song structures. Opening with a very Elliott Smith-y intro, it quickly but subtly adds varying instrumentation at each “chorus” and “verse,” and creeps toward a passage that’s rather angry and distraught. Until it stops. And here is the first of the three “difficult” spots, this one actually being rather soothing and pleasant. Before too long the song comes to the piano-led coda.
I’ll summarize “Authentic Pyrrhic Remission” like this: 4 minutes of (at this point) typical organic awesomeness, naturally followed by 6 minutes of “noise” that eventually calmly lands on 3 minutes of beauty.
Going back to the beginning of the album, “Gelid Ascent” and “Spiteful Intervention” pair well together and work fantastically as an entryway to the rest of the album. They are focused and, in the case of track 2, catchy as hell. Together they set the tone of where Barnes is coming from with this latest work. In an interview, Barnes stated he played around with placing “Breeding Knife” in the opening slot but thought the better of it. Indeed, that move would have only made the song that much easier to skip. Speaking of which, all I’ll say about this piece is that I know dick about the composers and music Barnes has cited as influences for these specific experimental moments, but sitting through them enhances the record. So, well done, fellas.
From there we encounter the first of 2 songs that act as oases of sorts- “Dour Percentage” (the second being “Malefic Dowery”). Lush, melodic, groovy… classic of Montreal, in other words. Again, where’s the ADD? We’re not only given a beautifully realized song, but a gorgeous instrumental jam to wrap it all up.
The only bad thing about this album is that it’s inspired people to write boring treatises on its lyrics on Amazon.com. To those upset that the lyrics aren’t always clear (sonically or otherwise): well, that’s why the music perfectly mirrors the lyrical content. It’s impossible to walk away from this album and not understand what Barnes is trying to convey. Mission accomplished.
Fuck the haters. Paralytic Stalks should be Kevin Barnes’ proudest accomplishment.
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they were the heroes of old, men of renown. |
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