Lousy With Sylvianbriar

Of Montreal, poppy retro weirdos from Athens, GA, go a new direction: abandoning dance music to go back to their folkier roots. I personally think Cherry Peel and the Gay Parade are two of the greatest albums of the '90s, so no complaints here. This album is a winner-- think strummy folky '60s hippy-dippy bubblegum, a dose of straightahead country-western, but a lot of '60s psychey retro flavor, and you have a good picture. Every track is a winner (though #1 stands apart). FCC on #3.

1. (4:13) ****** Fuzzy and strummy, snarly vox. Cuts into different sections with amazing hooks, countryish '60s-bubblegummy rocker. Real winner... Kicks into more hazy sleepy folky style at 1:30 left (with baroque language choices)... so much in this one.
2. (3:54) **** SLOW, funky tones. Ballad folk slow singalong warbling. Full-bodied folky-psychey hippieish chorus, ten-part harmony.
3. (5:55) [FCC: shit] ** Country-fried guitar riffs and deliberate whiney vox verses-- on and on in weird Arlo/Dylanish whorls 
4. (4:06) **** Etheral, slow strummy guitar, and a weird eight-part harmony which pops up, kind of Gordon Lightfooty. Dirgey and sweet and hippieish...
5. (3:36) ** Midtempo funky and sweet sound, arching syrupy hooks.
6. (4:12) **** More of that dancey Princey Paralytic Stalks sound (or the general 2002-on Of Montreal sound)... screamy intro and "ooh ooh ooh" chorus. 2:30 left, gets stompy and emphatic and chanty. Then into a breezy swanky piano dash...
7. (5:04) *** Slow, sad, with beautiful country-western steel guitar in background, mopey and pretty chorus.
8. (3:40) ** Midtempo mild and clicky, until fierce guitar buzzes on, and it goes into snarly rude chorus
9. (4:02) **** Jug-band + psychey Dylanish stomper, uptempo repetitive structure; lyrics about anti-war stuff, then weirder, then much weirder. Fake fade out.
10. (2:47) *** Somber strings opening... female vocals, dreamy atmosphere.
11. (4:01) **** Dark instruments to open, weird stoned vox. Confused (again, Dylanish), rambly and pretty likeable

-Hervey Okkles