Forget about the days when Of Montreal catapulted the experimental pop sound of the Elephant 6 collective, alongside the Apples in Stereo and Neutral Milk Hotel.
A dozen years later, electronic effects define the cutting edge of rock, so the 10th album by this Athens, Ga., band is heavy on glammy synth and techno beats.
Kevin Barnes spends most of the record singing falsetto and sounding a lot like Barry Gibb. 1970s influences are strong on "Hydra Fancies," a song that recalls the jazzy productions of Steely Dan.
For longtime Of Montreal fans who might be uneasy with all this, the band drops "Coquet Coquette" three tracks in. This urgent, straight-ahead melodic rock song outperforms everything else on the record.
Many of the tracks are saturated in funk and soul. "I Feel Ya' Strutter" finds Barnes unleashing choruses with over-the-top swagger that feels oddly comical ("Girlfriend! I got so lucky wichoo!"), especially when contrasted with the song's long spoken-word verses.
It's the album's opening tune and sets the tone for a record that's both conceptually bold and frequently self-indulgent.
