I was shocked to see that this only has a 3 star rating on here! Icons, Abstract Thee is one of my favorite albums to come out from Of Montreal in the pats few years. The songs are wonderful, but they just didn't really fit into Hissing Fauna. I love the setup of Hissing Fauna and honestly can see where these would be worked in if they were included. It's not that these songs are not as good, but they are of a different variety.
Hissing Fauna is the disaster. Icons is the outcome.
NOTE: This album was not yet available on Amazon.com when I wrote this review.
Kevin Barnes and Of Montreal live for the music. Somewhere in the midst of non-stop touring around the world, Kevin still manages to find time to write and record brand new music. Of course, it's never enough to release a great LP every one or two years, as they have consistently done since their inception. No, Of Montreal is also all about the EP, ususally releasing one in conjunction with their main releases. "Icons, Abstract Thee" is the thematic companion to the group's latest release, "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?" For those smart enough to preorder the album from Polyvinyl Records' website, you are probably the proud owner of this nice little EP. Everyone else has to either order it separately from the Polyvinyl Records website, or pick one up the next time the band comes through your town, as they will be made available on tour. Is it worth it though?
Kind of. You see, Of Montreal's EPs are largely collections of songs that didn't work on the full LP. For example, the Bonus EP that was released with "The Sunlandic Twins" was thematically similar to the album itself, but the style of the songs just didn't mesh well with the rest of the album. It's the same here. "Icons, Abstract Thee" is a collection of five songs that deserved to be heard, just not on "Hissing Fauna." There area couple songs about depression and relationship turmoil ("Derailments In A Place of Our Own" and "No Conclusion"), as well as your typically joyful songs about a band touring an evil kingdom ("Du Og Meg"). The standout track on the EP is arguably "Voltaic Crusher/Undrum To Muted Da" in which Barnes reflects on a relationship, saying, "You gave me your hand, I gave you a fist. Please don't lose any sleep over me, baby. I hardly exist." Of course, that upbeat dance track is countered quite beautifully by "Miss Blonde, Your Papa Is Failing," an acoustic guitar ballad that has Barnes singing "When I look in your eyes I see me looking back" to what I'm assuming is his own child. It's an extremely touching song that sounds like it could've been ripped right off of "Cherry Peel" due to it's lack of electronic flourishes.
Overall, the EP has a much heavier feel to it, tackling the same subject matters as their latest LP, but doing so much more bluntly this time around. On "No Conclusion" Barnes cries out "Tonight I feel like destroying myself," followed ever so gently by "I'm O.D.-ing on your c**ksucker blues." It probably wasn't a bad idea to leave these songs off of the album. None of them are really all that terrible, and most are actually really good. But musically, these songs would just be a distraction on what is otherwise a fantastic album.
The hardcore Of Montreal fans should definitely check it out, but I have trouble recommending it to anyone else.
Key Tracks:
1. "Voltaic Crusher/Undrum To Muted Da"
2. "Miss Blonde, Your Papa Is Failing"
6 out of 10 Stars
I absolutely love both Sunlandic Twins and Hissing Fauna. This lil' EP has the charm of neither. It sounds half-finished, and the production pales in comparison to the full-length albums (as do the lyrics, for the most part). Don't waste your money.
