Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? (2007)

Of Montreal specialize in highly-imaginative, highly-eccentric, pop music that is immediately catchy, yet begs repeated listens. With song titles such as Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse (the song belonging to this title being one of the highlights of this album), you can rest assured that Of Montreal are not your average Top 40 pop band.
Lead by the enigmatic Kevin Barnes - the brainchild and mad-professor behind the group - Of Montreal construct songs that are weird, wonderful, and, at times, baffling - obscure lyrics often demanding repeated listens so that the listener may fully comprehend their true meaning.
A healthy portion of this album deals with a somewhat dark period in Barnes' psyche. A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger has Barnes relaying a tale of a Summer spent in Norway in the grips of severe depression, over what is an extremely upbeat, sunshine-y melody. The Past Is A Grotesque Animal is a one of the albums darker tracks, though its pulsing, rave-up, electro-beat and lyrics such as "How can I explain / I need you here / and not here too" and "Things could be different / but they're not" make it a compelling listen.
Of Montreal's music - playful guitars, upbeat electronics - often contradicts the songs' lyrical content, though this seems to be the ultimate goal on this album. People don't like to be battered around the head with tales of sadness and depression (not that it is all doom and gloom), but give it a funky beat and something I can tap my foot to, and it becomes really quite enjoyable.

Check Out: http://www.myspace.com/ofmontreal