Skeletal Lamping

Skeletal Lamping
Studio album by
of Montreal
ReleasedOctober 21, 2008
GenreIndie pop, psychedelic funk[1]
Length57:56
LabelPolyvinyl
ProducerKevin Barnes
Of Montreal chronology
Icons, Abstract Thee
(2007) 		Skeletal Lamping
(2008) 		False Priest
(2010)
Singles from Skeletal Lamping
  1. "An Eluardian Instance"
    Released: 2008
  2. "Id Engager"
    Released: September 9, 2008
  3. "For Our Elegant Caste"
    Released: June 23, 2009
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic71/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
The A.V. Club(B)[4]
Blender[5]
ChartAttack[6]
Drowned in Sound(9/10)[7]
Pitchfork Media(5.9/10)[8]
PopMatters(6/10)[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
Tiny Mix Tapes[11]
URB[12]

Skeletal Lamping is the ninth studio album by Athens, Georgia-based band of Montreal.

Style

As with most of Montreal albums, Kevin Barnes performed almost all the instrumental and vocal tracks himself.[13]

Distribution

Skeletal Lamping was released on October 21, 2008. The album was released in different formats, including conventional CD and vinyl, as well as T-shirts, a button set, wall decals, and a paper lantern, the latter formats included a digital download code for the album itself.[14]

All items for the collection were designed by The Bee With Wheels (David Barnes) and Gemini Tactics (Nina Barnes), a coalition termed the 'Apollinaire Rave Collective'.[15] In an essay addressing the concept behind the album's release, Kevin Barnes stated "We feel that there’s no reason to produce another object that just sits on a shelf. We only want to produce objects that have a function and that can be treasured for their singularness."[16]

Georgie Fruit

Kevin Barnes at a 2007 show in San Francisco

Georgie Fruit is the name of Kevin Barnes' African-American cross-dressing stage persona, similar in many ways to David Bowie's alter ego Ziggy Stardust. Georgie Fruit was first mentioned on Montreal's 2007 album Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? during the song "Labyrinthian Pomp". Georgie Fruit plays a prominent role on Skeletal Lamping.[17]

In a post made on the of Montreal website in September of 2020, Barnes expressed regret for the "problematic" characterization of Georgie, apologizing for giving him a race and gender other than his own in his lyrical depiction.[18]

Polyvinyl Records has arranged to donate 50% of the proceeds of Skeletal Lamping to Black Trans Advocacy Coalition, an organization dedicated to address material inequities faced by transgender black people.[19]

Track listing

All songs written by Kevin Barnes.

  1. "Nonpareil of Favor" – 5:48
  2. "Wicked Wisdom" – 5:00
  3. "For Our Elegant Caste" – 2:35
  4. "Touched Something's Hollow" – 1:26
  5. "An Eluardian Instance" – 4:35
  6. "Gallery Piece" – 3:48
  7. "Women's Studies Victims" – 2:59
  8. "St. Exquisite's Confessions" – 4:35
  9. "Triphallus, to Punctuate!" – 3:23
  10. "And I've Seen a Bloody Shadow" – 2:23
  11. "Plastis Wafer" – 7:11
  12. "Death Isn't a Parallel Move" – 3:01
  13. "Beware Our Nubile Miscreants" – 4:52
  14. "Mingusings" – 3:01
  15. "Id Engager" – 3:24

Polyvinyl digital bonus EP

  1. Jimmy (M.I.A. cover) - 3:46[20]
  2. Feminine Effects - 2:56
  3. Little Rock - 0:58

References

  1. ^ Fink, Matt. "of Montreal's Kevin Barnes Discusses New Country Music Influenced Album, "Lousy with Sylvianbriar": Twisting Tradition". Under the Radar. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Skeletal Lamping by Of Montreal". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  3. ^ Allmusic review
  4. ^ The A.V. Club review Archived December 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Blender review Archived 2009-01-14 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ ChartAttack review[usurped]
  7. ^ Drowned in Sound review Archived January 30, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ Pitchfork Media review Archived March 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ PopMatters review Archived October 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Rolling Stone review Archived May 7, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Tiny Mix Tapes review Archived December 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ URB review Archived December 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ dddddieland // Dec 5, 2011 at 12:12 am (2011-12-05). "An Interview with Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes". Youaintnopicasso.com. Archived from the original on 2009-10-15. Retrieved 2012-03-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ The Skeletal Lamping Collection Archived December 30, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Appolinaire Rave Collective Archived October 19, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ 'We Will Only Propagate Exceptional Objects' Archived September 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ "Interviews: Of Montreal | Features". Pitchfork. 2007-11-19. Archived from the original on 2013-06-02. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  18. ^ "Georgie Fruit Revisited".
  19. ^ "Polyvinyl Records - Artists, News, Music - Shop Vinyl, Merch, Music and More".
  20. ^ Polyvinyl Record Co. Archived January 17, 2013, at the Wayback Machine