• Reviews

• All
• Music
• DVDs
• Live
• Cinema
• TV
• Books
• Comic Books
• Video Games

Nov 08, 2012 of Montreal By Dan Lucas

Rooting around in an old attic stuffed full of junk can be a hit and miss process: Homer Simpson found a “Stradawhovius,” I found a signed picture of David Cassidy; Can found The Lost Tapes, Oasis found The Masterplan. So when of Montreal went rooting around their discarded odds and sods collection, they would have known that the odds of finding anything worth releasing were pretty well 50/50.

Perhaps making the question of why Daughter of a Cloud even exists more pertinent is the fact that every one of the 17 tracks on here was recorded post-2007. It would be glib to decry the band as less relevant over the past five years; however, even the most ardent fan might admit that the four albums released in this period have been a little more hit-and-miss than in their early-to-mid-2000s heyday. Moreover, the sheer eclecticism and lack of a defining theme to the compilation makes it a little reminiscent of their slightly disappointing offering from earlier this year, Paralytic Stalks.

This may be a directionless paella of genres and styles, but the band is assured and accomplished enough to pull each track off with aplomb. “Sails, Hermaphroditic” may not be to Bowie’s standard but it is as glam as Elephant 6 rock gets, and “Hindlopp Stat” showcases their talent for camp industrial dance music. The high point is closer “Expecting to Fly”—years of Coldplay and their clones have shown us the difficulty of doing a tender piano ballad without falling into mawkishness, and this beautiful track does it just nicely. (www.ofmontreal.net)

Author rating: 7/10