Paralytic Stalks | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 7, 2012 | |||
Recorded | Sunlandic Studios (Athens, Georgia) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 58:05 | |||
Label | Polyvinyl | |||
Producer | Kevin Barnes | |||
Of Montreal chronology | ||||
|
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 62/100 [1] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
The A.V. Club | B+ [3] |
Consequence of Sound | [4] |
Drowned In Sound | 7/10 [5] |
Paste Magazine | 7.2/10 [6] |
Pitchfork | 4.6/10 [7] |
Rolling Stone | [8] |
Sputnikmusic | [9] |
Tiny Mix Tapes | [10] |
Under the Radar | [11] |
Paralytic Stalks is the eleventh full-length studio album by American group of Montreal. It was released on the Polyvinyl website and in stores on February 7, 2012. The band released the album in several formats, including music download, CD, cassette, vinyl, and a special-edition "Fuchsia Purple" vinyl, which was limited to 1,500 copies. Later pressings of the vinyl were offered in yellow as well as black vinyl. All physical versions of the album featured free digital downloads. To support the release of the album, of Montreal toured America in early 2012.
The recording of the album is dense, featuring dark tones and an indiscriminate eclectic nature both electronically and aesthetically. The album features a wide array of music, ranging from "pseudo-country" and, to a larger degree, neo-prog often switching and mixing music styles multiple times through the course of a song. Most of the recording was done with a Synclavier 9600 workstation. Kevin Barnes's lyricism also returns to the confessional style heard in Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? , entailing dark topics such as revenge, self-hatred, the human condition, and their painful relationship with their wife Nina. It has been called their most personal recording to date. [12]
The album was recorded in Barnes' personal studio and was mixed at Chase Park Transduction with engineer Drew Vandenberg, who has mixed albums by Toro y Moi, Futurebirds, and Kishi Bashi. Kevin is the producer, songwriter, and co-engineer for the album. The album features a crew of hired session musicians for the first time in of Montreal's history and features horn and flute player Zac Colwell as a new addition to the band's line-up. [13] While Kevin Barnes is known to take primary creative control of their recordings, K. Ishibashi of Kishi Bashi was a known collaborator on this record and was said by Barnes to have helped shape the songs. [14]
The reception from critics has been mixed, with the average critical score being a 62 out of 100, according to Metacritic. Some have praised its emotional rawness, [15] while others thought its divergence from the band's previous poppy style was alienating. [16]
All tracks are written by Kevin Barnes
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Gelid Ascent" | 4:17 |
2. | "Spiteful Intervention" | 3:40 |
3. | "Dour Percentage" | 4:39 |
4. | "We Will Commit Wolf Murder" | 5:41 |
5. | "Malefic Dowery" | 2:36 |
6. | "Ye, Renew the Plaintiff" | 8:45 |
7. | "Wintered Debts" | 7:33 |
8. | "Exorcismic Breeding Knife" | 7:41 |
9. | "Authentic Pyrrhic Remission" | 13:13 |
Of Montreal is an American indie pop band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontperson Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance between Barnes and a woman "of Montreal". The band is identified as part of the Elephant 6 collective. Throughout its existence, of Montreal's musical style has evolved considerably and drawn inspiration from 1960s psychedelic pop acts.
Deerhoof is an American musical group formed in San Francisco in 1994. They consist of founding drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez. Beginning as an improvised noise punk band, Deerhoof became widely renowned and influential in the 2000s through their self-produced albums.
Kevin Lawrence Barnes is the singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter for the indie rock group of Montreal, part of the Elephant 6 Collective. Barnes started the band and, although providing several stories as to the origin of the name, is said to have named it after a failed romance with a woman from Montreal. The group has recorded 18 full-length albums, and numerous EPs and 7" singles. Barnes' brother, David, is an artist and has designed most of the band's artwork for albums since the release of The Gay Parade.
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