The sixth full-length and first for Polyvinyl from this Athens, GA band is a departure from previous releases. There's a 70's Afro beat and an 80's new wave influence, and the songs are full of danceable electro hooks. Lim... more »ited edition LP version on colored vinyl includes a bonus 7-inch with two exclusive tracks.« less
The sixth full-length and first for Polyvinyl from this Athens, GA band is a departure from previous releases. There's a 70's Afro beat and an 80's new wave influence, and the songs are full of danceable electro hooks. Limited edition LP version on colored vinyl includes a bonus 7-inch with two exclusive tracks.
Robert Rabiee | New York, NY United States | 04/07/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It's been a rough couple of years for us Of Montreal fans. Their last two release, "Coquelicot Amongst The Poppies (A Variety of Whimsical Verse)" and "Aldhils Arboretum," while repleat with the pop-perfect weirdness that is songwriter Kevin Barnes's bread-and-butterflies, were beginning to feel - well, let's say a tad over-ripe. Packed with filler material (from sub-par songlets to over-long "literary" passages), these albums felt like dull attempts to recapture the love, excitement, and sheer genius of such early Barnes masterpieces as "The Gay Parade" and "The Bedside Drama (A Petite Tragedy)." Flash forward to Fall 2003. Barnes announces on Of Montreal's Web site (www.ofmontreal.net) that their new record, "Satanic Panic in the Attic," would be "a little electronic" - panic, right? Right. But then the pieces fell into place: "Sad Love" (retitled on this record "Eros' Entropic Tundra") was released as part of a Valentine's day comp, the opening track "Disconnect the Dots" was put up on the band site, and "Rapture Rapes the Muses" was leaked by their Australian label. And what, may you ask, did THIS pop fan do?Jump for joy.Kevin Barnes has hit a new level of brilliance on this album, fulfilling the promise of the band's other records. Unlike "Aldhils Arboretum," Barnes isn't afraid to reveal his freakish side, allowing the inner child to play catch with songs like "Lysergic Bliss" and "Chrissie Kiss The Corpse," maybe the greatest song about necrophelia NOT from a Norwegian black metal band (but don't quote me on that). "City Bird" is hands-down his most beautiful composition, the melody gently pressing down on soap bubble-brittle guitar work. "Vegan in Furs," "Spike the Senses," and "How Lester Lost His Wife" smack of indie posturing, but in the best way possible - raging guitars, bouncing drums, and the whimsical Syd Barrett-meets-ISB lyrics that we all know and love. And c'mon - "Vegan in Furs." How funny is that? Get it? "VEGAN In Furs"? Ha!But perhaps the strongest track on the brilliant outing is the aforementioned "Sad Love" a/k/a "Eros' Entropic Tundra." Barnes condenses into the lyric ("I was walking with my parents in St. Peter's Park/When I saw a young couple with a child/They were all holding hands and smiling"), the arrangement (strings, organ, thumping drum, disco bass, and a distorted kazoo chorus), and vocal delivery (innocent misery) everything that fans of Of Montreal have grown to know and love. A perfect song, and if he'd kept the old title, it might've been a minor MTV2 hit. Oh, well.So there we have it - Barnes & Co. (well, really just Barnes in his apartment) have delivered one of the great underground pop-psychedelic records of all time. If Barnes has been trying to re-create shades of The Zombies's "Odessey & Oracle" throughout his career, as I think he has, then he's definitely succeeded here - this is as perfectly hewned and lushly produced as any of the great underground psychedelic masterpieces of the 1960s, and deserves its place on your shelf along with them.Five stars. A masterpiece, plain and simple."
The Best, Most Well-Rounded Of Montreal Album!
Cale E. Reneau | Conroe, Texas United States | 12/17/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Wow! If you listen to Of Montreal's acclaimed album "The Gay Parade" and then follow it up with a listen to "Satanic Panic In the Attic" you will be surprised that you are listening to the same band. The once whimsical circus music that enveloped their two concept albums "The Gay Parade" and "Coquelicot Asleep In the Poppies" is not entirely gone, but it has evolved into something much better, and much more accessible to the casual listener.
Begining with the Kinks/Monkees reminiscent track "Disconnect the Dots," it becomes very obvious that you are listening to a different Of Montreal. One could attribute this change to the record label switch to Polyvinyl, but we can't be entirely sure. What is sure is that for the next 13 tracks you are taken on a pop rollercoaster, and it's one of the greatest rides of 2004. Not only that, but the song "Rapture Rapes the Muses" is quite possibly the best indie pop song of all time, at least in the last few years. There's pretty much nothing to hate about this album, and with a group as fun-loving and easy-going as Of Montreal, that's not too hard to accomplish."
Come disconnect the dots with me
E. A Solinas | MD USA | 03/30/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Of Montreal shifted gears somewhere along the road: instead of psychedelic folkpop, they began dabbling in catchy, humorous electropop. That sound is at the heart of "Satanic Panic in the Attic," a solid album that preserves their weird sensibilities, but changes their sound.
It's obvious from the beginning that this is essentially a psychedelic dance album: "Disconnect the Dots" opens with a gloriously catchy electronic tune, which is just a few beats too slow from being "poppy." And the lunatic lyrics are kept the same in songs like the lighthearted "Lysergic Bliss": "And I'm dizzy from her kiss/so vertiginous lost in lysergic bliss."
After that, the sound gets even more diverse, with Afrobeats and xylophone get mixed in with Beatlesque guitar pop. Frontman Kevin Barnes even dabbles in bass-pop in "Lester Loses His Wife." The biggest break in form is an acoustic ballad in the fragile "City Bird," a flute-and-guitar number that urges a "city bird" to seek its true place in the sky.
Time has passed, and Of Montreal seems to have grown up a little. In "Satanic Panic," Barnes muses on how "all I ever get is sad love," and laments "I think the chemicals have done/some evil thing to me" over a buzzing acid-pop tune. Fortunately, these songs don't overshadow the fun that brims out of most of the other songs.: Mischief comes into the song with the wonderfully gruesome "Chrissy Kiss The Corpse," about some people having fun with a corpse at a bus stop.
There's a greater electronic influence in this album, something which might be "new-wavey" if it weren't as loopy and folky. Under the blips and waves, however, are some solid drums, guitars and basslines, which form the basis of the catchier tunes. True to their history, the band also weaves in some keyboard and odd instrumentation. (Xylophone?)
And Kevin Barnes presides over it all like an oddball god, turning his rather unmelodious voice into a fun centerpiece for every song. Not every singer could sing a love song that says, "All of these faces are crowding around me/with mouths open wide to devour/But they have no impact no I do not cower/knowing I'm safe in your tower."
"Satanic Panic in the Attic" settles happily into the niche the Beatles might have had, if they had played new wave psychedelica. Great fun, and a worthy Of Montreal album."
Once again, Of Montreal is on top of their game
The Last Person You'd Expect | Seattle, WA United States | 08/04/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"While it seems that many listeners enjoyed the simpler pop sounds of their last album and the somewhat disappointing (IMHO) epic Colequet Asleep in the Poppies, I tended to find them much weaker in comparison with the Gay Parade. On the new album, Barnes experiments with a more electronic mix and a drastically more energetic sound than what he's attempted in the past, and he succeeds with his most creative album in years, and the lyrics aren't so cute as to make me queasy. In fact, fans of their Elephant Six brethren Beulah might find a little in common with the new Of Montreal; they've inherited a little of Beulah's 'cool' sound, but overall, as the album's title suggests, the energy level is a lot higher. Understandably, some Of Montreal fans may be a little taken aback (I was), but I think after a few listens, most fans would agree that the album is a second coming for the band."
"I'm not upset - just confused"
kaleb of sctas.com | 500 Miles Underground | 04/18/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"We may have the solution to global warming, deadly disease and most evil leaders in Satanic Panic in the Attic's artwork alone. I spent well into 3 hours in a dark closet with a single emergency candle exploring the wealth of creatures in it's illustrations, and by the time the wax had reached my feet, I swear I nearly had the answers. Then I decided to pursue the vinyl edition direct to get a closer peek (the artwork is approx. 250% larger on an album, you see) - still, the answer seemed to be in the music itself.'Satanic Panic in the Attic' is / was one of Kevin Barnes short poems from the of Montreal website - and it is now a full-on 14-track journey of audible grandeur. From the synthed up openings of 'dis-connect the dots' to the enhanced reverb of 'spike the senses', this is certainly not an album to write oneself off to - but likely find yourself suppressed in sheer jubilation. Truth be told, the only of Montreal release I own [and positively cherish] to this day is Cherry Peel, the beginner set from way back in 1997 [Bar None] - so you're getting something of an outsider's view on the whole journey that is OM. In short - I find Satanic Panic in the Attic a wonderous affair, much like a magical night on any near-weightless planet with the creatures from Sid & Marty Krofft's H.R. Pufnstuf (that leaves out the impossible chance of the mentioned "gay time" on a neutron star).Who could have seen the time-changes that take place on 'lysergic bliss' coming? That song in itself develops & reforms at least 4 times before ending a glorious chorus of joy. Am I right in reading that "all instruments played by kevin (barnes)", except for 2 songs? I've always been a sort of a sucker for an intelligent singer / songwriter - but this is quite the impressive feat given the amount of depth this album possesses. City Bird, the lone track that was written by one other that Barnes (Dan Donahue) is simply delightful - the past Sgt. Pepper comparisons ( to 1999's The Gay Parade ) are beginning to make sense. Another tune of complete brilliance is 'Your Magic is Working' : "Lately I've been so happy, just holding you and gazing into your eyes - like an old movie" - over the top sweetness, for the lucky Nina I would guess.Certainly one of the most important & interesting releases of 2004, let's not fret any longer - some are just born with greatness. + As an added "welcome to Polyvinyl - you may very well be our best selling artist of all time" bonus - there is a 4-track limited covers disc that is being bundled with SPitA, and it is well worth the time to track down. The take on 'know your onion" (the shins) is a puzzling case in itself - I can't figure out if the OM camp are "making fun" or just putting to tape a version of the song that rivals the original. Simply splendid indeed."