Comments on: Of Montreal – Skeletal Lamping

By: Demob Happy

Demob Happy — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:51:55 +0000

I know where you’re coming from Adam, but I really can’t comment as I haven’t actually heard the album.

By: dg

dg — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:29:48 +0000

yeah, Jesu is an awesome band…

…oh! What? Of Montreal? Don’t care :P

By: Adam

Adam — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:08:50 +0000

Have you ever tried reading James Joyces’ Finnegans Wake? It’s widely acknowledged to be the height of modernism, an unrivalled work of artistry in the history of the novel, the finest novelist of the 20th century at the height of his powers. And yet, it’s also famously unreadable, in the traditional sense. It has no discernible characters, no plot or narrative of any kind to speak of, frequently fails to adhere to the most basic of grammatical rules, and creates entirely new words and sentence structures, making it feel at times like a foreign language.

I’d argue that, to a less extent, this is what Skeletal Lamping does to the form of popular music. Saying that it sounds shit is a bit too far, you’re right, but it’s an album that you’re only going to get out of what you put in to. If you’re willing to tackle it’s nuances and awkward moments, you are rewarded with a thoroughly engaging and interesting listen, but it’s not the kind of album you can stick on in the background while you do something else, it just won’t allow you.

Maybe I’m just talking pretentious waffle, but that’s the way I saw it.

By: Demob Happy

Demob Happy — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:00:13 +0000

Convincing review – I think I may avoid this.
I’m not so convinced by Adam’s comment – sorry Adam – that it sounds shit but that it’s actually a “brilliant, brilliant work of art”, but I’d better actually listen to the album before I weigh into any debate.

By: ro

ro — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:39:13 +0000

jeez…personally i really enjoyed this. Some of the lyrics are absolute genius. In fact- this is easily in my top 10 albums this year……if not top 5.

By: Adam

Adam — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:42:58 +0000

I can’t not agree with Chris, but I also can’t agree with him. Skeletal Lamping is an incredibly dense, complex and layered piece of work. Like Jude says, it’s an exploration of sexuality, of identity and of popular music itself. It’s a brilliant, brilliant work of art, I could write an essay about the themes and motifs and devices used by Barnes, it’s undoubtedly one of the most demanding records I’ve ever listened to.

The problem is, of course, that to a casual listener, it’s just shit. Just a collection of sounds and beeps squeals and lyrics like “I’d like to roleplay Oedipus Rex”, the occasional good hook followed by a minute and a half of pure synth-based free-experimentation. The schizophrenia of the music is obviously integral to the point of the album, but it doesn’t exactly make it an easy or particularly desirable listen.

By: Jude

Jude — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:41:52 +0000

Oh – I really liked this album. I liked the exploration of sexualities (not *just* campness), the wit, the joie de vivre, the constant shifting of mood/style/boundaries etc etc.

By: Rich Hughes

Rich Hughes — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:00:45 +0000

I’m afriad I agree with Chris – this was an utter disappointment – no consistancy, and just a tendancy to be weird for weirds sake, rather than making great quirky pop songs.

By: christopher alcxxk

christopher alcxxk — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:16:56 +0000

ouch

By: Brainlove

Brainlove — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:08:28 +0000

If you untick three “Georgie Fruit” tracks, this albums gets a hell of a lot better. I like it much better now than I did for the first few listens.