Comments on: Decade :: Of Montreal, The Sunlandic Twins (2005)

By: GenoThePeoplesChamp

GenoThePeoplesChamp — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:21:14 +0000

Okay, fair enough, I misunderstood what you meant by game changer. Thank you for clarifying that point. Also regardless of my opinion, I respect you picking this album and making a good case for it, despite the stigma that has been placed on it.

By: j.crosby

j.crosby — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:53:49 +0000

@Geno Per “game changer,” the point was merely that it was their most inviting album of the decade, not that it was marked shift in the direction of the band. *Because* they’ve taken risks throughout, they run the risk of convoluting the meaning of their work, of turning off audiences–they run the risk (and have been guilty) of inane silliness. Sometimes they teetered over that tipping point, here they didn’t. That said, the essence of the band is PRECISELY why this record stands out, otherwise breath wouldn’t have been wasted there. Because it cleanly captures what the band is, without careening off into the arbitrarily bizarre.

Anyway, yours was probably the biggest criticism from OM fans when Sunlandic came out, and it’s certainly a valid opinion. (That, and then of course the Outback thing.)

By: GenoThePeoplesChamp

GenoThePeoplesChamp — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:55:45 +0000

I have been following your Decade series, and I usually find myself agreeing with the albums you pick. Even if I haven’t heard the album, after I’m done reading your articles I can understand the case you are trying to make for them, but in this case I’m a little confused. This article seemed to spend most of the time trying to capture the essence of Of Montreal rather than discussing the album. Now I understand the need to do that given the presence they hold simply as a band. My main issue is that when you got to talking about the album I was not convinced of your point, that this was their game changer. This was their mainstream breakout album, it was the easiest album in their catalogue to get into, but in order to be that it sacrificed most of what makes Of Montreal an interesting band. Musically this album is the band at their most basic, the sound is very empty in comparison to the majority of their work. I think for that reason it does not deserve credit. Then again since they are known as a band who constantly takes risks, maybe it is risky to then make an album that does not take risks. Playing it safe can be tricky for a band like Of Montreal. As my opinion clearly illustrates, I am a fan of Of Montreal, and I do not like this album because it does not take risks. Maybe this album deserves respect merely based on the fact that it took the risk of not taking risks. In the end I would not say that this album was a game changer so much as it was a counter-point to the majority of their other work.

By: mikey

mikey — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:50:22 +0000

“Make love like a pair of black wizards!” never fails to make me smile, and Barnes’ delivers it perfectly. Last time I saw Of Monreal live, they played “The Party’s Crashing Us” and the whole crowd screamed it at the top of our collective lungs. So fun.

I’ve gotta assume we’ll see a Decade feature on “Hissing Fauna…” as well?