False Priest

Of Montreal’s tenth release is dominated by glitzy, hooky, synth-funk in the vein of “I Feel Ya’ Strutter,” “Like a Tourist,” and “Girl Named Hello” with Kevin Barnes singing in a skittering multi-tracked falsetto that instantly brings to mind Prince (or a Prince parody). The songs run breathlessly from one glossy jam to the next, occasionally shifting gears as on the guitar-driven “Coquet Coquette” or the bitter ballad “Casualty of You.” It’s sprawling and dense, and chockfull of the oddball, stream-of-consciousness lyrics that Barnes favors. What makes this release different from previous albums is there seems to be a method behind the madness. Barnes is restless but not erratic. The songs are fuller and fleshed out and sound more crafted and less like a frenzied collage of ideas. Many even contain catchy sing-along choruses. Mostly though the album is pure adrenaline fun with a hint of underlying doom — you know the party is nearly over but not quite yet. In the end, False Priest straddles the moment between Saturday night’s cathartic release and the inevitable Sunday morning letdown.