Stream the New Of Montreal EP!

I LOVE Of Montreal, and they have a new EP out thecontrollersphere, which is comprised of songs written for False Priest that didn't make the cut. The musical direction varies completely between the albums, with thecontrollersphere much darker and heavier. The stream is available on Rolling Stone, so click HERE to check it out.

Favorite Albums of 2010

I never listen to as many albums as I'd like, but I definitely found some favorites in 2010. Check them out below, and if any are new to you, I recommend giving them a listen.

Of Montreal's False Priest

Big fan of Of Montreal, and this album is no exception. I absolutely love it, and you can read my full review of the album HERE.

“Our Riotous Defects” is one of my favorite tracks on the album, have a listen below.
Delta Spirit's History from Below

LOTS of great songs on this album, which has been on heavy rotation since I first discovered its release in June. One of the many songs I love on this album is "White Table," which I included below.


LCD Soundsystem's This is Happening

Absolutely love this album. One of my favorite tracks is "Pow Pow," which I wrote my love for HERE. Check it out below.


Menomena's Mines

LOVE this album (LOVE = an obvious trend on my favorite albums of 2010 list). I posted my love for this album HERE, which includes several songs you can listen to. For your convenience, here's a favorite track off the album, "Five Little Rooms."


Maximum Balloon's Maximum Balloon

LOVE this album. Love. One of my favorite tracks on the album is "Apartment Wrestling," which I blogged my love for HERE. Check out the track below. Love.


Arcade Fire's The Suburbs

Definitely a great addition to my life soundtrack. Truly a solid album. Check out "Month of May" below and enjoy. :)


Foxy Shazam's Foxy Shazam

SUCH a fun album. These guys have attitude and sass like no other. Energetic rock and roll, fo sho. "Oh Lord" is just one of the many songs I rock out to.


The Constellations' Southern Gothic

Definitely a fun album. LOVE the song "We're Here to Save the Day" with Asher Roth, which I posted below. Check it out!


Gorillaz's Plastic Beach

Lots of good tracks on this album. Me = a fan. Check out one of my favorites, "Some Kind of Nature."




And in addition to these 2010 releases, there were a few albums that were released prior to 2010 that were on constant rotation this year.

Mumford & Son's Sigh No More (09)

I was definitely a fan of this album last year, but I completely fell IN LOVE with it this year. Absolutely a favorite. If for some reason you have yet to discover Mumford & Sons, do yourself a favor and check out "The Cave" below. Awesomeness.


!!!'s Louden Up Now (04)

Just got this album this year, and I LOVE it. Especially "Pardon My Freedom." Enjoy!


Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros' Up From Below (09)

Definitely late to this train, but super glad I finally caught up. Great album! LOVE "40 Day Dream." Love.

Who am I missing?

Album Review: Of Montreal's False Priest

False Priest, Of Montreal’s follow-up album to 2007’s Skeletal Lamping, is officially out today, although I’ve been voraciously listening to it since it appeared on NPR’s First Listen last week. I find this album to feel less light and flutteringly-chaotic than Skeletal Lamping, although it thankfully contains an acceptable amount of the clever lyrics, abstract instrumentation and danceable beats I’ve come to expect from Mr. Barnes.

The songs on False Priest deliver a tighter and cleaner version of pandemonium than I anticipated, and word on the street is that’s due to producer Jon Brion’s involvement (Kanye, Spoon, Rufus, etc). I’m certainly not disappointed by this. The juxtaposition of sounds I loved so much on Skeletal Lamping (because they soothed my A.D.D.) are still present, they’re just not as frequent or backed by a full a-day-in-the-life-esque orchestra.

Another unique addition to this album are the collaborations with Solange Knowles (“Sex Karma”) and Janelle Monae (“Enemy Gene”). Both females add a wonderful touch to their respective tracks without really leaving their mark. I felt they both fit nicely within the songs, serving more as another layer of instrumentation rather than a distracting force to Kevin’s vision. I was hoping for something a bit more badass from Solange though.

(Here's a picture of Solange wearing the fabulous shoes I posted about here. Add those shoes to the fact that she's Beyonce's sister + Jay-Z's sister-in-law + has collaborated with Of Montreal = I'm so jealous)

I was an early fan of “Coquet Coquette,” but some of my other favorite tracks include:

• “I Feel Ya' Strutter” – a great opener. It’s upbeat and classic Of Montreal. I love it.
• “Our Riotous Defects” – contains a superbly hilarious little monologue regarding the crazy girl he’s dating that makes me chuckle every time I hear she killed his betta fish: “My god, I should have realized on our second date when you dragged me into the bathroom at Tenika’s house and screamed at me for like 20 minutes because I contradicted you in front of your friends. I was like, oh. And then later that night at my apartment as punishment you killed my betta fish. Just threw it out the window.” Hahaha. As of right now, my favorite song on the album.
• “Hydra Fancies” – ridiculously catchy, and definitely a more doo-wop feel with this track. I love the way the song feels at 1:12 and 2:17, when the sound progression drops for an instant and is restarted with an almost humorously distorted bass sound. It’s these little things that get me…
• Directly following “Hydra Fancies” is “Like a Tourist,” which has an immediately more fierce and defined sound. This song definitely displays a lot more of the seemingly random song transitions I loved on Skeletal Lamping.
• “Girl Named Hello” – definitely a driving beat with great lyrics: “If I treated someone else the way I treat myself, I’d be in jail.” An easy one to find yourself dancing too and singing along with on first listen.
• I think “Around the Way” is the song I’d vote “most likely to be heard on Skeletal Lamping.” A larger sound with more layers of instrumentation and more dramatic phrasing; however, I found it to be one of the sharpest and angriest songs on the album too.
• “You Do Mutiliate?” – Woah. Hey, Of Montreal, way to be deep and inspirational through a scary voice manipulator thingy. Some great points and interesting statements in this song, but I don’t think it’s for your Mom or some first-time Of Montreal listener. They’d both think you’re a little crazy for recommending it. I love it. Check it out and be prepared for such thought provoking statements like “Everybody’s searching for a cause, a reason to blow themselves up.” “When will certain people realize an afterlife is nothing to live for, nothing to die for, nothing to fight for?” “If you think God is more important than your neighbor, you’re capable of terrible evil.”

I love this album. I love Polyvinyl. I love Of Montreal. I love Kevin Barnes. I LOVE that I’m seeing Of Montreal on September 25 at the Aragon. I loved seeing them at Lollapalooza in 2009. I love Skeletal Lamping. And Hissing Fauna. And Sunlandic Twins. …just so you know.

A Few Things...

1. Pluots are amazing. Apparently they're a cross-breed of a plum and apricot (70% plum, 30% apricot). It's a juicy, orgasmic sensation for your mouth. Do yourself a favor and purchase some next time you see them.
2. The Blow is playing The Empty Bottle on November 13! SUPER excited about this, since Paper Television is one of my favorite albums.

3. Of Montreal's new album, False Priest, is streaming on NPR until the album's release on September 14. I've had a few listens, and I LOVE it. LOVE. For your convenience, you can check it out below. Enjoy! :)


PS I love you NPR's First Listen. I think you're awesome. I have a crush on you. Peace be with you.

New Of Montreal Album Soon!

A new Of Montreal album, False Priest, is due out on September 14 (Polyvinyl).

I am SO excited.

The album, which I'm sure will be as fabulous as their last three, includes appearances by Janelle Monae and Solange Knowles and the help of famed producer and film-music composer Jon Brion (Fiona Apple, Punch Drunk Love, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). According to Spin, the new album mentions zombies, Bowflex home gym machines, particle-wave duality, burnt irises, the tongues of dragons, and female erections. Awesome.

Check out their video for "Coquet Coquette" below, and mark your calendars for T-21 days til the new album.


ALSO, note that Of Montreal is playing at The Riviera on Saturday, September 25. I will be there, of course.