The Sunlandic Twins

Rate It! Avg: 4.0 (1022 ratings)
Sample Album
ALBUM INFORMATION
EDITOR'S PICK

Total Tracks: 17   Total Length: 54:35

eMusic Review

Avatar Image
Daphne Carr

eMusic Contributor

04.22.11
Psych-pop masters get their groove on.
Label: Polyvinyl Records

Coming off their highly praised seventh album, the 2004 psych-pop masterpiece Satanic Panic in the Attic, Of Montreal was confronted with a (not unwelcome) problem: how to follow-up? The surprising solution: synths and cheeky dance smarts. Unapologetic Elephant 6 harmonies and kooky conceptualism remain, but The Sunlandic Twins is less Brian Wilson, more Afrobeat boogie and Can propulsion smacked wacky by a post-Eno David Byrne. "The Party's Crashing Us" is the essence of this: leader Kevin Barnes 'too-smart-for-pop verbosity turns sincere for love while a dozen disco melodies vie for space around the bass. They all end up winning.

Write a Review30 Member Reviews

Please log in before you review a release. Log in

user avatar

Love this album

rickward

This is one of my favorite albums to listen to straight through. This disc stayed in my car for MONTHS.

user avatar

Love em or hate em

Tebi

Some people think they are a little too theatrical. I happen to love it, for the same reason I love things like Belle and Sebastian. Try Forecast Fascist Future and the Party's Crashing Us.

user avatar

just not for me.

UrbanGardenerSLC

I sometimes enjoy them, but oftentimes not. I love unusual music, but there's something I just can't get in to here.

user avatar

The Beatles of the 00's

SpykeDaddy

While these guys can be all over the place, so many of these songs are Beatles songs. Yes, they are that brilliant. Try "Requiem..." or "Wraith Pinned..." or "I Was a Landscape..." and hold onto your jaw. It will drop.

user avatar

not for me

EMUSIC-00B1D9F9

these guys have an awesome cover of "Moonage Daydream" on youtube, but i can't listen to this stuff. The lyrics are like carefully sharpened spikes of vapidity into my brain.

user avatar

The Sunlandic Twins

EMUSIC-01E6B5E8

The Sunlandic Twins is phenomenal! I love Oslo in the Summertime for its musicality and for its humorous lyrics.

user avatar

Easily the best Of Montreal album

jaltcoh

Essential tracks are # 1-5, 7, 11, 13, 17. At that point, you might as well get the whole thing - 17 tracks for just 12 credits.

user avatar

the jump off

arpad

this is the of montreal album to get. each track feels like a tribute to a different classic prog band through the dance-pop filter of elephant six. the elo to the apples in stereo's beatles. this is that happy-with -sad-in-it that belle and sebastian do so well. summer bike rides. relax and enjoy.

user avatar

Interesting

nevestdreyfus

Reminiscent of Architecture In Helsinki.

user avatar

Summer tunes. Hot.

paultaylor_2009

If Of Montreal's albums were matched with the seasons 'The Sunlandic Twins' would have to be the summer album: the album art first suggests it (burning summer sun, the inevitable summer romance), but it is the music that ultimately confirms it through almost an hour of accessible, carefree pop. The album seems to be best appreciated poolside, half-conscious, bathing in its sonic presence, however, if you listen hard enough you may catch a delicious psychedelic adventure (Track 5), a song that sounds like it belongs in a really cool Outback Steakhouse commercial (track 3), a not so playful jab at academia (Art Snob Solutions), and even a guest appearance by Nina Barnes (Keep Sending me Black Fireworks). In conclusion, I recommend this for the casual indie fan, and deem it an absolute must for any Of Montreal fan! Enjoy!

Recommended Albums

eMusic Features

Of Montreal

Q&A: Of Montreal

By Barry Walters

Whether cavorting around the stage in ballet tights or turning his psyche onto skewed, Technicolor pop songs, Of Montreal main man Kevin Barnes puts so much of himself on display that it almost seems impolite to look. For over 15 years he's commandeered his continuously mutating studio project and live band, while simultaneously exploring his own multiple personalities, sexualities and spiritualities. Invigorating the psychedelic soul of 2008's Skeletal Lamping and 2010's False Priest with… more »

Of Montreal's Little Red Coquette

Of Montreal’s Little Red Coquette

By Michaelangelo Matos

Right — the Prince stuff. Let's start there. "Our Riotous Defects," track two of False Priest, Kevin Barnes's 11th album either with or as Of Montreal, channels Prince in a way that's even more direct than usual. Over the last few Of Montreal albums, Barnes hasn't been shy about his desire to come as close as possible to that sound and standard while still remaining his weirdo, hyperkinetic, Athens, Georgia-bred indie-pop self. But he's… more »

They Say All Media Guide

Kevin Barnes’ seventh Of Montreal album continues in his traditional vein of toying and teasing our memories of ’60s pop, fed through whichever other fad or fashion most appeals to him at the time. In this instance, it’s “21st century ADD electro-cinematic avant disco,” which is a deliciously protracted way of saying quirky rhythms, lush harmonics, and a warm spot on the same side of the bed that the Polyphonic Spree occasionally share. The most deceptive angle to the album probably has to do with the titles — it’s unlikely whether the most obtuse mind could ever imagine tapping its toes to something called “Wraith Pinned to the Mist (And Other Games),” while “Forecast Fascist Future” simply shouldn’t sound like a British Beach Boys, pebble-dashed with Ray Davies’ finest harmonic daydreams, and then piped into a nursery where the infant Frank Zappa lays sleeping. Elsewhere, “Our Spring Is Sweet, Not Fleeting” may be little more than a minute long, but you live through great swathes of Rosemary’s Baby while it’s playing. To harp on about the “obvious” precedents that aging ears can pick out of Of Montreal’s sonic stew, however, is to overlook all that is so savagely entertaining about their music (plus, it makes them sound like a High Llamas tribute band, which is unfair as well). Rather, 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. – Dave Thompson

more »

Activity

  • 02.10.12 Here's the link to our performance of "Dour Percentage" on @latenightjimmy - http://t.co/JEzXJDbw
  • 02.08.12 We're playing "Dour Percentage" tonight on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon! Be sure and tune in.
  • 02.07.12 #ParalyticStalks is also available at your favorite local record shop. All shops will carry this yellow 2xLP: http://t.co/wdUFInKN
  • 02.07.12 #ParalytcStalks is OUT TODAY! Available on 2XLP, CD, cassette, and MP3 through Polyvinyl - http://t.co/uQ1QGThJ
  • 02.02.12 Tickets for our record release show on 2/17 in Athens, GA @GATheatre are available here - http://t.co/NszQlvOe See you soon!
  • 01.31.12 Here's what the #ParalyticStalks fuchsia 2xLPs look like. U can pick one up from @polyvinyl here: http://t.co/uQ1QGThJ http://t.co/seJqFTOE
  • 01.25.12 U can listen to Paralytic Stalks in its entirety on @SPINmagazine right now - http://t.co/uTbegxPv
  • 01.19.12 Hissing Fauna is $7.99 all this week on the @iTunesmusic Indie Spotlight section + other titles from @Polyvinyl - http://t.co/9zwAN9Wl
  • 01.09.12 Paralytic Stalks now available as an instant download w/ all pre-orders from @Polyvinyl - http://t.co/uQ1QGThJ
  • 01.06.12 New song off Paralytic Stalks, "Dour Percentage," is available here - http://t.co/Q1ruhrhv
  • 01.05.12 Here's an interview w/ @QMagazine on Paralytic Stalks - http://t.co/fTZmNgW6
  • 01.03.12 Here's a bunch of fun tech talk on @EM_Magazine about how Paralytic Stalks was made - http://t.co/8XfbHdKy
  • 12.23.11 Check out our unreleased song "Feminine Effects" on The Holiday Hunger Bundle. Every $1 spent +1 meal for the hungry - http://t.co/geeLwwbK
  • 12.15.11 Preview a few more songs off Paralytic Stalks - http://t.co/lqMW45Nl - Pre-orders are up here - http://t.co/uQ1QGThJ
  • 12.12.11 Just announced new tour dates for 2012 w/ @loneydear, @Kishi_bashi and Deerhoof! Check out the dates here - http://t.co/oN8Ia9a1
  • 12.09.11 DJ'ing tomorrow night in Miami at Grand Central w/ The Blow, Au Revoir Simone, Class Actress and others. Free / 21+ http://t.co/3Sd1qfAS
  • 12.06.11 Kevin sat down w/ @RollingStone to talk about #ParalyticStalks - http://t.co/DzrmZZ2x Pre-order Paralytic Stalks - http://t.co/uQ1QGThJ
  • 11.28.11 Help our very own @kishi_bashi record his debut album 151a by visiting his Kickstarter page - http://t.co/pvbP1AO9
  • 10.29.11 Here's another pic of the cassette box sets. More info on the @joyfulnoiserecs site here - http://t.co/1kOG4Y2c http://t.co/3N1JnzVf
  • 10.25.11 Here are the cassette box sets - http://t.co/wJ203aR5 - get $10 off w/ coupon code "iwhipmyhairbackandforth" - http://t.co/1kOG4Y2c