He was the frontman of the ’90s-peaking Philippine Alternative Rock / New Wave band Half Life Half Death, which released a full-length album and several singles on Viva Records.

With references to popular culture amidst the tales of modern love and society, this is a refreshing and vibrant record you’ll be rewarded with on every listen. Now that Barnes is 45 years old and the band is becoming more and more accessible, it isn’t necessarily flattering. While it isn’t always great, if you take it for what it is, the album will stick with you.
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Of Montreal are a part of the Elephant Six Collective, and the band have become one of the most popular and successful of the group. ‘Gypsy That Remains’ has a grandiose opening with lyrics to match: ‘Going mental brings us closer to God and you are a prince for finding me beautiful’. Although the band has obvious psychedelic influences, the music remains catchy and smooth. The beats, however, leave something to be desired. Kevin Barnes, the master of ceremonies for the ever shape-shifting band Of Montreal, has never shirked from camp and cogent observations.

Rewind. The latest album from Kevin Barnes and company is unhinged, ’80s bedroom pop drenched in sugar. aLfie has been a music journalist since the mid-’90s for various print magazines as well as websites.

In his spare time, he enjoys reading books and listening to music. The album’s greatest prowess is its synth melodies. It’s a record of our lost fun.

Another glitter-glam, disco-dance track comes next in the form of the provocatively titled “Get God’s Attention by Being an Atheist.” The pace and mood then initially turns slow and contemplative with “Gypsy that Remains,” but whose beat eventually picks up, aligning itself once again with the overall summery, tropical fun vibes of UR FUN—with sprinkles of gypsy melodies for good measure. He began writing album reviews for CrypticRock in 2015. News: Live Performance Clip of The Clash Shared from Upcoming ‘White Riot’ Documentary, News: Kississippi Shares Poppy Single ‘Around Your Room’, News: Goldfinger Drop New Track ‘Wallflower’, News: Obscura and Nailed To Obscurity Announce ‘North American Moment Tour’ With Headliners Dark Tranquility, Interview: Tom May and Joe Godino of The Menzingers on Reimagining Exile, Video Spotlight: Stop. Help us in support to keep the magazine going strong for years to come with a small donation. Other times, it’s more successful. Billed as a ‘staying-in-love record’, it promises to be full of potent pop hooks and foot-shuffling melodies. Of Montreal's 16th album 'UR FUN' review: A happy-sounding autobiographical synth tapestry with morbid humor. aLfie is a doting and dedicated father to his now ten-year-old son, Evawwen. He pairs modern, relatable lyrics with a fun synth sound reminiscent of Cindy Lauper and Madonna. With tunes for dancing, thrashing and falling apart, of Montreal’s latest effort is a fitting start to 2020. Barnes may have too much control of the project. Of Montreal will be unveiling their glam synth-pop album on January 17 featuring a deeper look into frontman Kevin Barnes and Christina Schneider's relationship. Born in 1971, in Metro Manila, Philippines, aLfie vera mella is a healthcare worker, singer/songwriter, and editor/writer. The record UR FUN has its moments as the catchiest thing you’ve heard since Cyndi Lauper, but it only slightly improves upon the form. The single “Polyaneurism” is funny, satirical, and kind of sad. ‘You’ve Had Me Everywhere’ has a loving message and a sound that recalls Stars: ‘Listen to your heartbeat realising it’s my heartbeat too, because if something were to happen to you I would lose my mind and I would never get it back’. aLfie worked at Diwa Scholastic Press as an editor/writer of academic textbooks and supplementary magazines, focusing on Science & Technology and English Grammar & Literature. Of Montreal go full bubble gum. The closing ’20th Century Schizofriendic Revengard-man’ heads back to a punk-rock sound with messages that will strike a chord with every listener: ‘I can’t go to work today because I forgot to, how to human’; ‘Why does everything seem fake? ‘Deliberate Self-Harm Ha Ha’ offers another change in direction as the vocals begin to resemble Thom Yorke and the words talk about excuses, falling-outs and how ‘I f I can make you impotent, I know that I will never be free’. Most of the guitar and bass parts are unremarkable, but when it gets to “Deliberate Self-Harm Ha Ha,” there is a great, groovy-smooth bass line.

Of Montreal are a part of the Elephant Six Collective, and the band have become one of the most popular and successful of the group. UR FUN as a title explains everything you need to know about this record. If you’re into that, it can be quite fun and enjoyable. Of Montreal have always been a metrosexual project, taking the torch from, most notably, David Bowie, and UR FUN could be more modernly queer and less ’80s metro. Once again with his latest release, “UR Fun” Barnes orchestrates a celebration of musical enthusiasm and apt social commentary. In 2003, aLfie migrated to Canada; he has since been living in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The lyrics aren’t always great, but they get stuck in your head days after just the first listen. © Copyright Cryptic Rock 2019 – All Rights Reserved – User Login Website Design by Anthony Idi. But in any way, it is a funny record. Currently consisting of Barnes and Clayton Richlik (drums, keyboards, guitar, bass), Jojo Glidewell (keyboards), Davey Pearce (bass), and Nicolas Dobbratz (keyboards, percussion, bass, guitar), Of Montreal has been rather prolific through the years, releasing 15 studio albums over a two decade span between 1997 and 2018. Finally, Barnes, Richlik, Glidewell, Pearce, and Dobbratz wrap up the fun with the chaotic, Grunge-glazed fun of “20th Century Schizofriendic Revengoid-man,” which—many might not know—is a pun on the classic ’60s Progressive Rock track “21st Century Schizoid Man” by the mighty King Crimson. With its new album, the enduring band ensures its place at the starting point of the new decade. Surely, Of Montreal’s 2020s phase has only begun. A further swing into soulful swagger plays next—the sweet and smooth “Carmillas of Love.”, Barnes and his comrades then throw in the blender a bit of Britpop quirkiness and Alternative Rock’s brashness, resulting in “Don’t Let Me Die in America,” which will fit well onto a playlist that includes similarly fun tunes such as The B-52ss “Planet Claire,” The Go-go’s’ “We Got the Beat,” and Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America.” The next track—“St. Already on their sixteenth offering yet Of Montreal does not show any sign of slowing down. The pace of this track is probably the slowest on the album, which makes it one that stands out. The tracks bounce and bubble with 80s movie montage quality. See “Don’t Let Me Die in America.”. Barnes’ songs about dating were cute and honest during the disco-influenced and psychedelic eras of the band, but as the music goes further into the realm of what, for lack of a better term, is bubble gum pop, it becomes less earnest. 29. Pepper’s and MGMT before veering into punk on ‘Don’t Let Me Die in America’ (‘I don’t want to die in Jacksonville, I don’t want to die in Omaha’; ‘I don’t even want to haunt this place’). of Montreal is a psychedelic pop band. Complete with 80s’ styled production, UR FUN opens with its carrier single, the upbeat “Peace to All Freaks,” whose mix of melody and mire is enough to lure both the commercially drawn and the adventurous. It is accompanied by great synth and guitar leads. Their upbeat, quirky music mainly consists of sugary guitar riffs, twinkly keyboard lines, and a lovable, optimistic vocal delivery from lead singer/songwriter/guitarist Kevin Barnes. Now, starting off a new decade in style, they release their 16th studio album UR FUN, on Friday, January 17th, 2020, via Polyvinyl Record. The outfit formed by Kevin Barnes (singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist) in 1996, in Athens, Georgia, United States, Of Montreal has long proven to be among the more prolific of Alternative Rock. 5307 shares He works full-time at a healthcare institution, while serving as the associate contributing editor of Filipino Journal—a local community newspaper in Winnipeg—tackling Literature, Languages, Cultures, Lifestyles, and Music. Spectralnights

Sebastian” stands out with its marked change of style—Synthpop at its classic sound and best; it will certainly remind the initiated of the likes of The Normal’s “Warm Leatherette,” IGO’s “Synth Love,” and Rational Youth’s “Saturdays in Silesia.”. As they head towards their quarter-century, Kevin Barnes’ band Of Montreal have decided to create the polar opposite of a break-up album.
In 2016, aLfie published Part One (Literature & Languages and Their Cultural Significance) of his Essay Series, Can You Hear the Sound of a Falling Leaf? UR Fun is an autobiographical account of Barnes’ blossoming relationship with Christina Schneider from the band Locate S, 1. With much of this new record being electronically produced, the flaw of this album could be the band’s success. Still, UR FUN is tough to hate and, love it or hate it, these songs will be burned into your mind. While early Of Montreal used to be the perfect dance-the-pain-away music, it now veers towards ridiculousness. The Dance Pop sensibilities continue with the ensuing “Polyaneurysm”—playful and tuneful, nostalgic and contemporary—echoing traces of Blur (“Tracy Jacks”), Elkland (“Apart”), and The Killers (“Read My Mind”). Kevin sings ‘Hush, hush, I don’t think I can do it for myself but I can do it for us’ before offering a rally against racism: ‘Somebody must have taught them at a crucial age that if you’re dead inside, you don’t really age’. Following this is ‘Polyaneurism’ with lyrics about ‘insta-fame’ and a sound that evolves from a Polyphonic Spree or Flaming Lips-infused intro and then to a bop more in line with The 1975. Kevin Barnes pours his love life into his music, making this album just as honest as the last. Things get psychedelic on ‘Carmillas of Love’, which is equal parts Sgt. View Blog. Drop. Like the in-depth, diverse coverage of Cryptic Rock? Still in dance-floor mode, Of Montreal albeit switches to something a bit romantic—“You’ve Had Me Everywhere” is a mid-tempo meant for merging bodies in the dim-lit corners of the discotheque. Whether it’s pure escapism or the inevitable tide of success, the project just isn’t what it used to be. Barnes sings “Hush, hush / Don’t let’s be negative / Hush, hush / Don’t let’s be cruel”, as the music keeps bringing glimpses from 80s dreamy synth-pop. Share Tweet. Things then take a seductive turn: ‘I want you in my arms forever, that’s just how I feel’. That is why Cryptic Rock gives UR FUN 4 out of 5 stars. “UR Fun” follows up 2018’s release “White is Relic/Irrealis Mood” by diving into the deep end of 80’s retro sonics. The album opens with ‘Peace to All Freaks’, a song with an important message and a burst of handclaps and synths that bare a passing resemblance to ’99 Red Balloons’.

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