I was skeptical about the prospects of Of Montreal’s latest release, an EP, thecontrollersphere. Though Skeletal Lamping earned a place in the canon after a few listens (and it took a few listens), False Priest failed to sit as well with me. Was it too much to ask for another Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?

Some of that magic – some – has returned, I’m happy to say. Kevin Barnes has stopped his band’s slow descent into cacaphony – the bad kind, at least – and seems to be moving back in the direction of that catchy blend of experimental, glam rock, and pixie-funk that made them so appealing in the first place. Most reassuring is the reintroduction of Bowie Tones. That is to say, Barnes seems to have latched onto another incomprehensible, yet captivating narrative. I don’t completely understand what he’s getting at, in terms of what’s happening, but songs like L’Age D’Or get me back in the groove of listening to Kevin talk about insanity-fueled rants and love poems to multi-location-based polypheliae with men and women we know nothing about.

And it’s orchestral; well, as orchestral as a five-song EP can be. Of Montreal litters the album with a variety of textures and instruments. This is schizophrenic more than anything else, but unlike many of the tracks on False Priest, they gel. He’s content to change percussion figures and instrumentation every thirty seconds or so, but it’s for the best. For something so nonsensical, it’s impressive that he hardly ever loses our attention. The biggest complaint I have is there is yet to be another true hit like “A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger,” but it comes close. Well worth a healthy feeling of optimism about where the band’s going.

of Montreal – “L’age D’or” from “thecontrollersphere” by YiN Magazine