“Lousy with Sylvianbriar” by of Montreal

– By Dustin Blocker –

“PUSH PLAY”

Loose, exciting and completely off its meds; of Montreal’s twelfth record, Lousy with Sylvianbriar, makes you wonder what it’d be like to share a cell in the psych ward with singer Kevin Barnes. For as dramatic as this may sound, the album’s eleven tracks pit foot-tapping instrumentation against allusions of insanity, and, well, drugs, suggesting that the asylum might actually be the perfect environment to ingest this record.

Barnes schizophrenic approach to lyricism and languid vocal warbling is both disturbing and charming— and the band is pretty great too. At the record’s high-points, “Triumph of Disintegration,” “Hegira,” and “Fugitive Air”, the superb combination of guitarist Bryan Poole’s choice riffs and the potent rhythm section of Davey Pierce and Clayton Rychlik have you disregarding the cerebral wreckage within the first few bars. Quite simply, Lousy with Sylvianbriar jams.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvHs8BwKjFI&w=560&h=315] “Sirens of Your Toxic Spirit (Live)” by of Montreal