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Of Montreal’s Concept Pop
By Pras Rajagopalan
One thing Kevin Barnes can't be accused of is lacking imagination. The Of Montreal songwriter has created everything from sunny, sugar-pop songs recorded on a tape deck bedecked with labyrinthine lyrics based on grand conceptual themes to the hulking, schizophrenic funk-addled therapeutic exercise that was 2007’s Hissing Fuana, Are You the Destroyer?
Of Montreal’s latest, Skeletal Lamping, is built on the funk pop foundations that emerged in the latter half of Hissing Fauna, although a new vocal tic Barnes has developed suggests another influence. “I love Curtis Mayfield,” he says. “I was definitely using his scream a lot on this album — probably overusing it.” Barnes delves further into themes of sexuality that began in earnest with Hissing Fauna; on Skeletal Lamping, he channels the psyche of Georgie Fruit, an alter ego of sorts Barnes first made reference to when discussing Hissing Fauna.
Barnes describes Fruit as a black man who’s had several sex change operations and used to be in an Ohio Players type band. “I don't really try to separate him from Kevin Barnes,” he says. “He’s more of a songwriting device.” Like Hissing Fauna, Skeletal Lamping could be accused of having an identity crisis; perhaps even calling it an album is a misnomer. After the first few tracks, the album strays dramatically from traditional song territory, featuring chopped up permutations of laptop beats, funk bass lines, ceiling-scraping falsettos and the spacey psychedelic flourishes — closer to a DJ set than an album proper, a characterization that Barnes acknowledges. “Well, it’s certainly not intentional, but I definitely get what you’re saying.” Despite Of Montreal’s evolution and stylistic shifts, central to the identity of any Barnes-penned album is maintaining his sharp pop sensibility. And that isn't going to change anytime soon.
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Jay Reatard’s Extreme Makeover
 Jay Reatard is changing. This observation was never more evident than back in April when a Toronto gig went awry: the crowd pushed a PA on top of bassist Stephen Pope and his pedals, a pitcher of beer was thrown at Jay’s Flying V, breaking the pickup and input electronics, and Jay cold-cocked a stage invader — an act that has now earned him legendary status on YouTube. It was like a scene straight out of his time spent in the Reatards or the Lost Sounds years ago, but for the gonzo garage punk, this type of chaos is a thing of the past....Read More
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Bison B.C.’s Scorched Earth
 James Farwell, singer and guitarist for East Vancouver sludge metal tyrants Bison B.C., is wearing his heart on his sleeve. Taking a break from his job at a homeless centre in the heart of downtown, he’s eager to his share passion for music, beginning with the riffs. “It’s hard to explain; it’s kind of like being in love,” he deadpans. “It’s this feeling: when you first write it you get butterflies, then you kind of almost get a little sick… it’s something that makes the hair on your arms stand up.”...Read More
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Rae Spoon’s Long View
 Rae Spoon adores the great outdoors. On his new album SuperiorYouAreInferior, he pens every song with Canada’s sprawling wilderness and buried history in mind. But ask the Calgary-based country artist about his love for being outdoors and you’ll get a whole different story....Read More
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Land of Talk’s Great Lakes
 Before establishing herself in Montreal in 2000, Elizabeth Powell was a small town musical secret with a rare countenance. Scrappy yet sophisticated, she absorbed aspects of the burgeoning punk and indie rock community in Guelph, Ontario, penning catchy folk songs with alluring fragility and anger. It seemed appropriate when she re-emerged with the poppy, hardcore trio Land of Talk in 2006, releasing the lively EP, Applause Cheer Boo Hiss....Read More
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Large Pro Lives
 Hip-hop has changed a lot over the years but you can’t tell New York City producer/MC Large Pro anything about it. On his banging new album Main Source, Pro eschews cross-pollinated rap, invigorating hip-hop’s fundamental beats-and-rhymes structure for something fresh, yet timeless. “Y’know now days, with a lot of slow tempos, stuff that is not hip-hop is being categorized as hip-hop, when it might be ‘crunk’ or whatever else,” Large Pro says. “When I think of hip-hop, I think of how it came from the main source — like growing up with the Zulu Nation, gangs, graffiti, break dancing, and everything. So, I want to get back to the main source; just that feeling of the b-boy and all that.”...Read More
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Noah23 Ain’t Playin’
 For ear-to-the-underground fans, Noah23 is a hip-hop hero with rap super powers. Yet his conflicted dedication to cult status has meant only small pockets of followers across the globe can wax poetic about the prolific, Guelph, ON-based MC’s gifts, as a culture sponge with a rapid-fire flow and an ear for the sweetest, unexpected hooks. All of this should change with the star-studded semi-bildungsroman that is Rock Paper Scissors, as Noah23 aims high for his first proper solo album in four years....Read More
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"I've got a fever and the only cure is dead angels."
-Bayonetta
Ever since the Christmastime gaming deluge ended, I've been killing a lot of angels. Though God's messengers have been bad guys in other pop-cultural products ― His Dark Materials book trilogy, the pas...
Full Review
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