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[one_half last=”yes”]OF MONTREAL
Aureate Gloom
Release-Date: 03.03.2015
Label: Polyvinyl
Tracklist:
01. Bassem Sabry
02. Last Rites at the Jane Hotel
03. Empyrean Abbatoir
04. Aluminum Crown
05. Virgilian Lots
06. Monolithic Egress
07. Apollyon of Blue Room
08. Estocadas
09. Cthonion Dirge for Uruk the Other
10. Like Ashoka’s Inferno of Memory
NBHAP Rating: 3.7/5
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A book by the cover
‘Aureate’ is defined as made of or having the colour of gold, as well as language that is highly ornamented or elaborate. The creations of OF MONTREAL are unique by their hypertension, quivering like a rubber band about to snap, layered over with sheet upon sheet of melody like a lasagne of golden tissue paper. Even the cover art trembles, dripped in lurid watercolour.
Crescendo to ebb
One thing that OF MONTREAL are expert at is weaving together very different threads to form a coherent tapestry. Tracks like Last Rites At The Jane Hotel are an example of this, the song twisting and turning down multiple paths almost simultaneously. At times this is fiery flare, at others the pace kicks right back into off-kilter sways. It’s as though each song actually contains four or five, collapsing and colliding with one another like distant constellations.
A touch of melancholia
As suggested by the title, there is a certain greyness about the edges of Aureate Gloom. Deadpan vocals throughout link arms with solemn harmonies in moments like Empyrean Abbatoir and Estocadas. It’s here that the river slows, allowing enough time to breathe deeply and contemplate its passing. The heavily garnished gloom creates a welcome moment of space amongst the chaos that we’ve so come to love and recognise of OF MONTREAL.
‘Aureate Gloom’ is an endearingly odd creature, warped and embellished by metallic and fluorescent shades. It’s a twisted journey down odd-pop lane, and a solid synthesis of OF MONTREAL’s material to date.
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