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of Montreal: False Priest

Polyvinyl

of Montreal’s Kevin Barnes’ neuroses don’t merely have neuroses of their own, they have entire concept albums (On 2008’s Skeletal Lamping, he declared himself a black she-male). Barnes requires patience. If not in real life, then definitely on record. His hyperactivity can be off-putting, the manic Henry Darger-like melodrama unsettling. Sultry R&B beats help—now made with a real band—as does the occasional pop allure, like the “Walk on the Wild Side” backing vocals on “Like a Tourist.” Often, though, Barnes is just too wordy, making it hard to listen to simply as dance music (especially the monologue-heavy “Around the Way”). Still, the music is undoubtedly narcotic, bathed in rich, barbed narcissism. Aided by mod-pop divas Janelle Monae and Solange Knowles —on “Sex Karma,” a steamy, freaky his/hers number as only Barnes could write—Barnes veers close to authentic pop, and even more authentic weirdness.