Of Montreal/Loney Dear/Kishi Bashi

Depending on how you see it, the new album by indie-pop changelings Of Montreal is either a glorious cornucopia of sound or a total fucking mess. Paralytic Stalks – which is the 11th LP by the Athens, Georgia, crew that has its roots in the fabled Elephant 6 collective – is a head-scratcher, for sure. It's partly a prog-rock trip through a landscape of never-ending noise sculptures. The album's last four songs clock in at more than seven minutes each; the closing “Authentic Pyrrhic Remission” stretches out to 13 minutes. But it's also an extension of 2010's freaky-funky False Priest, a fairly authentic excursion into white-boy R&B featuring Janelle Monáe and Solange Knowles, Beyoncé's sister. Frontman Kevin Barnes has been the ringleader throughout, currently directing a carnival of seven musicians through orchestral collages, ramped-up indie rock, and space-age freakouts. You trust he's in control of the whole thing, but there's no telling for sure, especially when Paralytic Stalks slides off course before regaining some traction on that final suite of workouts. It's messy, but in a way that makes you want to see what comes next. It may not be pretty, but you won't want to look away. – Michael Gallucci