Of Montreal
The Sunlandic Twins

THE REVIEW

Could you imagine the Beach Boys in the '80s? Does imagining Brian Wilson with MacGyver hair and padded shoulders seem impossible to you?

Well, there's a simpler way to do this than ingesting huge quantities of acid, just listen to "Sunlandic Twins" by Of Montreal.

"Sunlandic Twins" is a bewildering and quirky mix of shapes and colors, an album where nothing seems to make sense and nothing seems impossible. Try listening to "I Was Never Young", funky guitars, almost dance-like rhythm section, and melodies with beat choirs, all in just over three minutes.

The secret of the album lies precisely in this continual change, in this excessive yet natural mix. The Of Montreal guide us like perfect helmsmen through these parallel worlds made of melodies and synths, of carillons and pseudo-Gregorian choirs, and the most surprising thing is that everything seems to be driven more by a whimsical instinct than by a true and proper sense. So we find ourselves immersed in the psychedelic Abba of "Wraith Pinned To The Mist & Other Games" or in the plastic mysticism of "I Was a Landscape in Your Dream" without even realizing it, such is the naturalness with which Of Montreal handle the subject.

However, as history teaches, there's also the flip side of the coin here too.

All this mixing sometimes turns out to be a bit excessive, or rather, at times Of Montreal play too much at being themselves, and in certain episodes, they come across as a bit redundant and self-indulgent.

Anyway, this flaw does not affect the overall quality of the album. After all, a band that churns out an indie-rap (!!) track like "Oslo in The Summertime" and makes you imagine Brian Wilson with MacGyver hair, deserves applause.