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White Is Relic/Irrealis Mood
by
White Is Relic/Irrealis Mood Image
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 20 Ratings

  • Summary: Kevin Barnes moved away from live band recording for the indie rock band's 15th full-length stdio release.
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. The 405
    Mar 13, 2018
    75
    He is constantly blowing up what’s good about his work, adding extraneous parts, going on wild tangents, obfuscating emotional truth with impenetrable verbosity, veering from good taste to bad in the blink of an eye, or reinventing his band’s sound wholesale. While this impulse doesn’t always translate to an enjoyable experience for the listener, and can be especially trying for longtime fans, who can become overly attached to what they would consider to be Of Montreal’s definitive sound, there’s no denying that Barnes takes your ears to places they’ve likely never been before. There won’t be another album that comes out this year that sounds like White is Relic/Irrealis Mood.
  2. Under The Radar
    Mar 8, 2018
    75
    Barnes has a once again solid outing under the of Montreal moniker on an album that is as quirky as it is seamless.
  3. The A.V. Club
    Mar 9, 2018
    75
    The album (nominally a concept record about the “the death of whiteness”) has six long tracks that stretch over 42 minutes, and within them are evocative stretches of ominous early synth pop, noodling synth funk, and dreamy dance music in the vein of A.R. Kane. Barnes’ voice and coy, over-accentuated phrasing remain the band’s love-it-or-leave-it factor.
  4. Slant Magazine
    Mar 8, 2018
    70
    Barnes's willingness to use it as a mechanism for bearing his deepest fears and vulnerabilities--even through the highly stylized filter of a paranoid retro-futurist nightmare--makes White Is Relic/Irrealis Mood deceptively relatable.
  5. AllMusic
    Mar 8, 2018
    70
    Taken together, White Is Relic/Irrealis Mood offers convoluted yet catchy dance-rock that lures with flamboyant basslines while capturing a dancing-while-anxious Zeitgeist.
  6. Drowned In Sound
    Mar 12, 2018
    60
    White Is Relic/Irrealis Mood is, in essence, a very solid new of Montreal album.
  7. DIY Magazine
    Mar 9, 2018
    40
    Extension relies not just on quality component parts (of which there are many here), but too on tender placement and a development which holds some compassion for the listener. On this rich but straggling album, of Montreal fail on both accounts.

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User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Fractalcathedra
    Apr 23, 2018
    10
    This is the best Of Montreal album ever, in my opinion, and I've listened to them all. It's like they've refined their sound to the mostThis is the best Of Montreal album ever, in my opinion, and I've listened to them all. It's like they've refined their sound to the most crystalline version of themselves- catchy, lush, expansive, beautiful, dark, subversive, political, danceable, and at times quite hilarious. I actually didn't get into their last couple of albums, and I sort of thought I was over them, on the whole. I'm glad I gave this a chance, it's become an unexpected front-runner for my favorite album of the year. 10/10.… Expand
  2. hotwheels47125
    Apr 29, 2018
    10
    Vampire 80's Club Dance Parties, commence!
    Of Montreal takes a concept like "Simulated Reality" and plays with it against times of finding    Vampire 80's Club Dance Parties, commence!
    Of Montreal takes a concept like "Simulated Reality" and plays with it against times of finding love to create 6 of the most enjoyable reflections Kevin Barnes has painted in his entire career. There is not a bad track on this concise and well thought-out record.
    Seeing the band perform the album live adds a whole new layer of what makes this band who they are in the underground kingdom of music. Do yourself a favor and try this album with headphones, then, check their tour schedule! It's worth the $20.    … Expand
  4. fwtll636
    May 12, 2018
    8
    Somehow, through all the random noises and low-fi production, an impressive album is born. Perhaps not strong enough to persuade the skeptics,Somehow, through all the random noises and low-fi production, an impressive album is born. Perhaps not strong enough to persuade the skeptics, but entertaining enough to keep listeners interested.… Expand
  5. bigt187
    Mar 22, 2018
    7
    Mgmt and Sarah Blasko brought the synth back out. In a particular way, they also know how to perform something outside the sameness zone thatMgmt and Sarah Blasko brought the synth back out. In a particular way, they also know how to perform something outside the sameness zone that this type of work usually offers. Blasko offered something elegant and simple, full of emotion and in delicate tones, but touching, already Mgmt presents an acid work full of nuances and original, a reinvention of the duo. White Is Relic / Irrealis Mood offers what is needed to join the living room.

    To be one veteran with works memorable and one major characters of music indie, is midless augurement may be found in memory which is done by epo ft. Of Montreal fades the traditionalism on its fifteenth album of a sound and offer on album with futuristic and vibrating tones, over the days modern and a great paranoia, or motor by behind.

    Long-lasting tracks mark the work in tracks divided into two parts, totaling a total of six tracks. Fear and vanity penetrate intrinsically between the tracks, "Paranoid Intervals / Body Dysmorphia." An intelligent production inspired by the dance of the eighties and a beautiful vocal performance creates a tense atmosphere and covered with distrust, in which the work is based. There are great compositions about the feeling of uncertainty and about a non-existent reality, and this kind of singular thing.

    There are times of Montreal is not such a memorable job as this, certainly a great port for his huge discography. The now is going to be the best or most recent for another mediocre job.    … Expand

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