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The Sunlandic Twins
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 25 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 43 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Polyvinyl
Release Date: 12 April 2005
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock
Summary
Kevin Barnes' eighth Of Montreal disc finds the Georgian heading into more electronic territory, enlisting his laptop to assist in the recording process. Music on a laptop--who knew?
Also By This Artist: Aldhils Arboretum Coquelicot Asleep In The Poppies Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? Satanic Panic In The Attic Skeletal Lamping
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Stylus Magazine
Barnes has created some utterly brilliant compositions, captured a perfect blend of melodic energy and sincerity while never sacrificing catchiness, and has used both achievements to create one of this year’s most cathartically fun albums.
Read Full Review >Delusions of Adequacy
The Sunlandic Twins is a dizzying, exhilarating, and almost endlessly fun ride, breezy almost to a fault, romantic and lighthearted.
Read Full Review >Splendid
The relentless sweetness may be off-putting to some... but it'll be difficult for all but the most jaded listeners to avoid being charmed by Of Montreal's appealing melodies and whimsical innocence-recaptured lyrics.
Read Full Review >Village Voice
Part of what makes Of Montreal notable is the quantity of things Barnes does impeccably.
Read Full Review >Lost At Sea
On the whole, The Sunlandic Twins makes almost everything else today seem diluted and stale.
Read Full Review >Dusted Magazine
Occasionally masterful, frequently evocative, and consistently lovely.
Read Full Review >Filter
Imagine if !!! were to trim down the intense jams and adopt light vocal harmonies a la the Shins. [#15, p.95]
cokemachineglow
Though not perfect, it's unlikely 2005 will see many records eclipsing The Sunlandic Twins.
Read Full Review >Urb
Terse bass and faux-African rhythms that recall [the Talking Heads]. [May 2005, p.93]
All Music Guide
Sunlandic Twins is an album to leave playing while you're going about your daily business. Then see how quickly you discover its 13 tracks burrowing so deeply into your skull that it's as though you'd lived with its jerking, burbling, and never less than transcendental swirlings for ever.
Read Full Review >Under The Radar
If Brian Wilson made a dance-pop album, it would sound like this. [#9]
Alternative Press
The Sunlandic Twins feels like a surprise party that could make a broken-hearted birthday boy smile. [May 2005, p.124]
New Musical Express (NME)
An elegiac, neo-psychedelic collection of labyrinthine naive melodies that's the schizophrenic lovechild of Four Tet and The Magnetic Fields. [4 Jun 2005, p.58]
Prefix Magazine
For all its delectable dance tracks, infused with Barnes’ latest influences of Afrobeat, disco and electronic music, The Sunlandic Twins still offers thoughtful lyrics and emotionally heady songs.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle
Some might write off this album as a collection of novelty work à la Ween, but there's more going on here than being goofy for goofiness' sake.
Read Full Review >Mojo
[A] dazzling selection of pop songs. [Aug 2005, p.96]
No Ripcord
Barnes seems to draw from a bottomless well of creativity, and is capable of the most sublimely unexpected melodic phrasing. At the same time, he can come off as a little too intellectual for his own good.
Read Full Review >Tiny Mix Tapes
While the second half of the album is a miscue -- eschewing the sunny innocence that makes his music so likeable -- I know what'll be in my CD player all spring.
Read Full Review >Billboard
Barnes' bright-eyed, bushy-tailed vocals are at times trying, but there is substance and craft behind the unrelentingly catchy ditties.
Read Full Review >Q Magazine
A trip worth taking. [Jun 2005, p.116]
Entertainment Weekly
Most of Twins seems too keenly fascinated by its own intelligence. [15 Apr 2005, p.77]
Pitchfork
Missing Satanic Panic's multidimensionality, the album feels like the hollowed-out shell of something great.
Read Full Review >Blender
When it works, his songs are intoxicating pop nuggets... But meandering instrumental interludes and clunky song titles are low on wink, high on wank. [May 2005, p.122]
Uncut
For all this sonic broad-mindedness, the Twins' ideas are piled on a lightweight core, and good luck making sense of the lyrics. [Jul 2005, p.104]
What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 43 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Edgar H gave it a10:
Awesome!
Frank D gave it a10:
Another solid effort by Kevin Barnes and Company. Great, great album.
Slay G gave it a10:
One of the better albums to come out in 05.
Mike D gave it a10:
Terrific album! Smart, upbeat, catchy, weird, beautiful and original. Not quite as good as "Satanic Panic In The Attic" (which is my favorite album ever) but who cares this is still very rock solid from beginning to end. The more I listen to this band, the more I realize how great they are. Of Montreal gets my vote for the underrated band in the last 20 years. Not only do I recommend this album but also there whole entire Discography because every single album of theirs has gotten at least a 8 or better from me. Kevin Barnes you are one of the best song writers of all-time.
D J gave it a10:
A joy to listen to. This is one of those albums you can't stop listening to, no matter how you try. And I mean that in a good way.
Meat Bag gave it a10:
Lovely & Weird. That pretty much sums up this album.
A C gave it a10:
I love this album. No one does it quite like Kevin Barnes when it comes to created fun, upbeat music, clearly this man is a genuis. Tracks like (I Was Never Young, I Was a Landscape in Your Dream, Requiem for O.M.M.2, The Party's Crashing Us, Everyday Feels Like Sunday, The Repudiated Immortals, & many more) will definitely keep you hooked for days, weeks & months.
