Album Review: Ur Fun by Of Montreal

Following releases across two decades that navigated Beatlesque psychedelic pop, electro-funk, synth-boosted glam, folk-rock, and punk -- for an incomplete overview -- Of Montreal architect Kevin Barnes settled into a club-friendly fusion of dance-rock and electro-pop beginning with the eclectic Innocence Reaches in 2016. 2018's White Is Relic/Irrealis Mood took direct inspiration from the extended remixes of pop hits that were prevalent in the 1980s, and two years later, Ur Fun narrows in on catchier, singles-minded fare. A set that doesn't break for ballads, it was, as has become typical for Barnes, inspired by his personal life, which settled into a steady relationship following divorce.

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There’s a reason why break-up albums are so commonplace, they’re almost a genre within themselves. It’s that window into an artist’s soul, the diary where feelings identifiable to anyone can be snooped upon. There’s a reason why Bob Dylan‘s Blood On The Tracks is so well thought-of, why Tunnel of Love is one of Bruce Springsteen‘s most cherished albums.

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Of Montreal albums were starting to seem interchangeable, as the prolific project's recent catalogue had become one big blur of inscrutable album titles and colourful cover illustrations. As good as songwriter Kevin Barnes often is, does the world really need another Of Montreal album called, like, Vestigial Deletions of Caeculus or something? And that's what makes their 16th LP, UR FUN, so refreshing, as it dumbs the band down in all the right ways.   From the "Take on Me"-style giddiness of opener "Peace to All Freaks" through to the ….

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