Skeletal Lamping - Of Montreal
User Score
8.7 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 52 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 47 out of 52
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 52
  3. Negative: 4 out of 52

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  1. Pipinowns
    Nov 30, 2010
    10
    The best of Montreal album to date, which is saying a lot. Completely original and innovative album, unlike anything you've heard before. Kevin Barnes isn't just changing his own style, he's completely changing indie music as we know it.
  2. JockoS.
    Oct 22, 2008
    10
    Unbelievably creative.
  3. DaveS.
    Oct 23, 2008
    10
    If you can get through the first listen, it only gets more rewarding. By the 3rd..4th..it just might be the most fun you'll have with music this year. A true achievement. It's Kevin Barnes, letting it all hang out.
  4. RobertS.
    Oct 24, 2008
    10
    Greatest. Album. Quite possibly ever made.
  5. SoftcorE
    Oct 27, 2008
    10
    Agree that it takes a few listens before it dawns just how good this is, but man it's the most fun you'll have coming to terms with an album. I find myself only wanting to listen to of Montreal these days. This just takes off where Hissing Fauna left us last year, even before HFAYTD, The Sunlandic Twins was 75% genius too. He keeps pushing his ideas of song progression further and further. I'm calling it a groundbreaker in the same mould as Rubber Soul, Pet Sounds, Ziggy Stardust, Sign of the Times, Giant Steps, Radiator and Smile. All the great albums sound all over the place, challenging, even confusing. Only after some patience coupled with the love of music that pushes the envelope, do they reveal their undeniable greatness.… Expand
  6. TimR
    Oct 21, 2008
    10
    Takes some listening, but I've found this is just as wholly addictive as their previous efforts.
  7. AndrewP.
    Oct 21, 2008
    10
    The backlash against this album as too schizophrenic is curious, considering the sources who laud bands like Animal Collective. I find Skeletal Lamping to be an absolute masterpiece, the best thing Of Montreal has ever done and one of the best albums of 2008. It takes some work to get into, certainly, but it's worth the effort. Don't let the negative reviews deter you from giving this one a chance.… Expand
  8. BradW.
    Oct 21, 2008
    9
    This album is amazing and addicts you like a young toddler to peppermint candies. Although reference to sex and drugs is extremely high, the 15 songs in this album all are refreshingly deceiving and fester inside your head for weeks. Once you go "Of Montreal", you'll never go back.
  9. mickeyP
    Oct 22, 2008
    9
    Seemingly fragmented pieces may be perceived, which I credit to our over stimulation of traditional pop progressions (which I still can't resist), but upon further listening the progressions will make you shiver with excitement and awe. Instead of milking an amazing section for the extent of a song, there will be a line you hear once (leaving you craving for the rest of the song) and the progression mutates into and reveals a silent implication (of the previous section) through another awesome section of the song. Not since Squarepusher's Ultravisitor have I heard such beautiful transformations within a song (of contemporary music).… Expand
  10. Drew
    Oct 26, 2008
    10
    Firstly, I love of Montreal. They are one of my favorite bands. Everything after Satanic Panic is magnificently beautiful. Now, this is definitely a departure and not an easy listen. I hated this album on first listen. Third and fourth listens revealed this as one of the most incredible albums I've ever experienced. The lyrics are very sexual and nothing is held back. It scares me how well this album flows together. I find myself wanting to hear one song, then queuing up the rest of the album, it has that kind of flow. Definite masterpiece. Definitely in the hat for album of the year. Wins my vote hands down!… Expand
  11. JoshG
    Oct 28, 2008
    10
    I felt slightly let down at first, kinda like it lacked some soul.. after i started wrapping my head around it I just fell more and more in love. thank god for Kevin. I just saw it performed in concert last night. Too bad the Riviera is a hellhole.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
71 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 33 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 33
  3. Negative: 2 out of 33
  1. Drowned In Sound
    90
    Some people are going to think this is a masterpiece, the equal of "Hissing Fauna." Others will call it a self indulgent mess that pushes indie-rock somewhere it really wasn't meant to go. Personally, I think both those sound about right.
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  2. Dusted Magazine
    70
    Lamping has some catchy songs and some interesting lyrics, but feels too inconsequential, too easily sloughed off.
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  3. Entertainment Weekly
    75
    Barnes plays virtually every instrument. It's impossible not to be impressed by such virtuosic preening. Ultimately, though, only one artist in the world can get away with this shtick for an entire hour-long album.
    Read full review
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