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Coquelicot Asleep In The Poppies Image
Metascore
84

Universal acclaim - based on 5 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 15 Ratings

  • Summary: This is the fourth full-length from Athens, Ga-based Of Montreal, led by Kevin Barnes. The full title is 'Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse.'
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 5
  2. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. Layering his idiosyncratic songs with elements of classical, jazz, Broadway and Disney movie scores, Barnes elevates Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies into the pantheon of seminal new pop masterpieces that test our very concepts of what modern pop should sound like.
  2. While there are come similarities to their previous efforts Bedside Drama and The Gay Parade, Coquelicot is more ambitious in its concept, arrangements, lyrics, and even artwork.
  3. Coquelicot, like most Of Montreal albums, is at times sublime and lovely, at times infuriatingly catchy, at times simply infuriating, at times overly twee, and at times seriously fucking scary. What sets this record apart from its predecessors, though, is a level of intricacy and detail that Of Montreal have never previously attained as a band.
  4. Alternative Press
    60
    A precious orch-pop labyrinth that unfolds with sudden melodic left turns and zany shifts in dynamics and instrumentation. [Aug 2001, p.94]
  5. At times, it's clever and/or charming ("Penelope," "Mimi Merlot"), but almost always tedious.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. LizS
    Mar 2, 2005
    10
    Brilliant
  2. TYong
    Oct 18, 2002
    9
    Yup, it's a grower alright, will hit you after about the 5th time. The best of Montreal album to date. my ratings is 9.5/10
  3. Sep 11, 2016
    8
    of Montreal's fourth studio album is the final push of creativity from this part of mastermind Kevin Barnes' life. Bursting at the seams withof Montreal's fourth studio album is the final push of creativity from this part of mastermind Kevin Barnes' life. Bursting at the seams with color, creativity and energy, "Coquelicot" is the longest and most complex of Montreal album to this point by a mile. It is a loosely organized concept album about featuring a kaleidoscopic cast of characters, in varying elements of lightheartedness, with something sinister constantly hiding beneath the surface. One of the strongest aspects of Kevin Barnes' songwriting is his seemingly endless supply of saccharine melodies, and this trait appears in full bloom on "Coquelicot"- melodies fly from every corner of the songs, taking unexpected left turns multiple times a minute. The album clatters to an overwhelming ending with the ridiculous piano solo "The Hopeless Opus," an 18 minute long improvisation that forms a perfect conclusion to the first period of Kevin Barnes' musical life. He has his sights set on something even bigger than this, and with "Coquelicot," he lays to rest the wonderful cast of creations of the previous 5 years. Expand