Paralytic Stalks

Nothing Kevin Barnes has made prior or since Paralytic Stalks compares -- this is beautiful, emotional progressive pop, the kind you'd expect from Todd Rundgren at the top of his game ("Dour Percentage") or even approaching Yes in their best years ("Ye, Renew the Plaintiff" -- check out that insane breakdown with those swirling strings near the end, or "Authentic Pyrrhic Remission"'s sustained, lengthy notes before the dramatic piano finish). This material might take a few listens to digest properly, but once it hits you, it just never quite escapes. I haven't been this obsessed with a record in years, and I regret that I wasn't in the know when it was originally released six years ago.Reviews from the likes of Pitchfork somehow miss the point entirely. It's not Kevin at his most extreme -- that would probably be Skeletal Lamping. Every single track is teeming with emotion, whether it's the poignant "there's blood in my hair" refrain in "We Will Commit Wolf Murder," the line "love is not a debtor's prison / you don't have to serve a sentence to pay back what you've been given" in "Malefic Dowery," "this planet is an orphanage" from "Dour Percentage," or final breakdown before "every time I listen to my heart / I just get hurt" in "Authentic Pyrrhic Remission."And that's just lyrics, and just some of the amazing, heartfelt lines Kevin penned. Musically, this thing is a godsend. I realize at this point this sounds like a big ol' dumpster of hyperbole, but nothing comes close to the cathartic Rundgren pop of "Dour Percentage," the Coquelicot-like "Malefic Dowery," the fragmented moving chaos of "We Will Commit Wolf Murder," or the entirety of the masterful "Ye, Renew the Plaintiff." And the entire thing flows so well -- it's a record that feels endlessly replayable, and it's one you will want to start from beginning to end every time.And yes, that includes the beyond avant garde "Exorcismic Breeding Knife," a song I haven't mentioned for probably good reason. It arrives at the best possible place it can, all seven minutes a cathartic blast of noise that understandably can put a lot of people off. My tip is to just skip it if it gives you the willies and come back to it later. It'll make sense someday.And that really applies to the whole album; one of these days, it'll get the due it has always deserved.

I have been a fan of Of Montreal since The Sunlandic Twins and this is, in my opinion, Kevin Barnes' best work. I realize many people have many complaints about this album, from the often over-wrought lyrics to the dense, sometimes schizophrenic musical experimentation but, Exorcismic Breeding Knife aside, the music felt like a fresh new direction for him and a welcome divert off of the well-worn trail of catchy pop music that Of Montreal had made for many years but without completely abandoning the hooks and driving beats that have always made Of Montreal one of the best bands out there.Sonically, this album feels like they are taking an evolutionary leap forward. It is not to everyone's tastes but it is a leap forward into new territory for sure. Lyrically, some of these songs are clearly Barnes' best writing ever. Spiteful Intervention, Dour Percentage and Malefic Dowry keep him well grounded in the past pain of relationships gone astray while Ye, Renew the Plaintiff and Wintered Debts show him ready to move past these. The catharsis evident as he howls "I can't deal with mourning at the carcass of my failures any longer" in that last song feel like they apply to a lot more in his life than his past loves. This is all capped off with the joy of new love evident in Authentic Pyrrhic Remission leave the listener feeling hopeful and exuberant before dropping off into an unsettling musical landscape that had me recalling the impersonal judge of humanity's perspective in Gelid Ascent, the first track.This is a masterpiece of an album, a true classic album, meant to be listened to in order, front to back. It will push your boundaries and you may well be unsettled by some of it but it is well worth the effort to enter into Barnes' world.

MY GOD!!! This album is just SOOO real. Too real for some of you apparently. Like someone else previously said, Georgie Fruit has left the stage. I feel like the emotionality/angst that Kevin projected into that character have been brought back to their rightful home: his own head, body, and experience. I love every song on this album. For me personally, it's like a reflection of my life, and dare I go so far as to say, our generation as a whole. He just captures it. He gets it. It's like Skeletal Lamping has grown. Not grown up, but grown. I could go on and on, but the fact is this is the best album of 2012 so far. Other than skeletal Lamping, it's one of my most favorite of Montreal albums. I like the psychedelic spree stuff too, don't get me wrong, but this is just such a well executed, artistic expression of what our generation is going through and what we've came from I don't know how you cannot like it unless you're just not in touch (or comfortable) with yourself. I love that he had the gaul to make this. I've been waiting on something just like this, and didn't even know it. It' fun, it's beautiful, it's angry,it's poppy, it's jazzy, and i love it! Get it! Listen to it, and try to understand what he was attempting to convey. Don't put your expectations before the simple act of just listening to receive what he's trying to give you. Do it! Damn, album just ended and yes, I got a little sad about it.

Item showed up a day early, my only gripe is that it does not appear to be new, as it was described to be, the case has some minor ware, the disk has a few minor scratches.

this thing is a monster. from the first 5 tracks that you can see parallels with of montreals previous works, paralytic stalks expands on that continuing with the incredibly complex yet followable lyricism to the monster tracks at the end, this is a properly good album.

Like I said of Montreal is of Montreal. Weird, always have been, always will be. Another disc of similar sounding trippy tracks that no matter how many times you listen don't make any sense.