Montreal is the 'Destroyer'

Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? isn't due out until Jan. 23, but thanks to the generosity of the band and Polyvinyl Records, it's already available for listening on the Polyvinyl Web site, so, how about a preview? (And after reading this review, you don't have to just take my word on it, check it out yourself at www.polyvinylrecords.com/hissing.)\nIn its first track, "Suffer for Fashion," Hissing Fauna starts off with an explosion. The song's charging guitars, swirling synths and glitchy beat not only grip you by the ears, but set the tone for the rest of the album. Don't expect the sweeter, twee-er, Magical Mystery Tour-esque sound of earlier Of Montreal (say, The Gay Parade or Aldhil's Arboretum), Hissing Fauna follows directly from the sound-change begun in Satanic Panic in the Attic and manifested in The Sunlandic Twins. It's weird, hyperactive, candy-coated disco even more intensely so than Sunlandic Twins and this makes it great fun, if not as lovable as its predecessor.\nThe second track, "Sink the Seine," starts promisingly but is over in an eye-blink. However, afterward, Of Montreal gets on an absolute tear with "Cato as a Pun," "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse," "Gronlandic Edit" and "A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsinger." Lyrics about depression and loneliness contrast with bright, funky, danceable instrumentals in this terrific, and surprisingly consistent, four-song run ("Heimdalsgate" narrowly edges out the others to be the album's finest single).\nProblems arise, however, with "The Past Is A Grotesque Animal." Sitting smack in the middle of the album, and sounding like a brighter version of Public Image Ltd., "Past" seems to be building toward something and keeps building and building, and ultimately takes an absurdly long time to go nowhere. It's not that bad, but it breaks Hissing Fauna's momentum.\nFollowing tracks "Bunny Ain't No Kind of Rider," "Faberge Falls for Shuggie" and "Labyrinthian Pomp" are goofy fun but unfocused and lax. It isn't until the hooky dancefloor-burner "She's a Rejecter" that something matches the album's "Cato" to "Kongsinger" height. "We Were Born The Mutants Again With Leafing" concludes things nicely, but isn't as memorable as Hissing Fauna's best moments. Final score? Fans and more-adventurous types will be pleased, but the uninitiated might want to try out Sunlandic Twins first.