of Montreal drops their new album titled ‘UR FUN’ as of today (January 17th, 2020). This is a good album to ring in the roaring (hopefully not raging) 20s in with. A solid set of hooks and beats set in a seamless set of transitions that gives the listener something to do that is aurally immersive. Some of the said hooks are delightfully retro while others look to the future for inspiration.
The most refreshing aspect of ‘UR FUN’ as an album is that the music is equally at home, in your earbuds, at a club, or in a stadium. This is just a feelgood positive adrenaline rush fit for any occasion or setting with the feels from one track flowing into the next. Listen from start to finish.
About of Montreal
The new love we heard about on the last of Montreal record, White Is Relic/Irrealis Mood, is settling. If that was the falling-in-love record, then this is the staying-in-love record. That was the easy part; this is the interesting part, the challenging part, the next chapter of Kevin Barnes’ autobiographical album streak, UR FUN.
The public diary that started with of Montreal’s classic album Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? has continued into a growing string of increasingly personal works. On UR FUN, Barnes is more candid than ever, presenting ten concise electro-pop songs that expose the depths of his current life, his private thoughts—both optimistic and brooding. This ramped-up vulnerability has inspired Barnes to strip his stage persona of costumes and drag, just appearing as himself on recent tours for the first time in many years.
After several albums recorded with collaborators and various band members, Barnes opted to record this one completely alone. In his home studio in Athens, Georgia, Barnes isolated himself in creative hibernation, working obsessive 12-plus hour days arranging manic synth and drum machine maps on a computer screen with bouncy, melodic basslines, glam guitars, and layered vocal harmonies.
Inspired by albums like Cyndi Lauper’s She’s So Unusual and Janet Jackson’s Control, Barnes set out to make UR FUN into the kind of album where every song could be a single, complete with huge hooky choruses and nostalgic dance grooves. The result is an unstoppably fun album that could also pass for a carefully sequenced greatest-hits collection if taken out of context.
Featured image by Christina Schnieder.
LINKS:
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