Cherry Peel

 

 

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Of Montreal sprang into existance with their debut "Cherry Peel," but they might as well have called it "All You Need Is Love." It has cheery pop melodies and offbeat lyrics, but the most noticeable thing is the focus on love -- especially hearts-and-flowers, pounding-heart love.

It opens with "Everything Disappears When You Come Around," a charming acoustic ballad that is either really sweet or really disturbing, depending on how you feel about vanishing ears and headless birds. The vibe continues in songs like the electronic-tinged "I Can't Stop Your Memory," the rollicking "Don't Ask Me To Explain" and bizarre "Sleeping in the Beetle Bug."

The second half opens with a peculiar friendship/love ode that begins, "Tim, wish you were born a girl,/So I could've been your boyfriend." What follows is a mishmash of melancholy laments ("You looked in my eyes,/Then said, "I'm so sorry") and puppy-love songs, ending with the lines: "You've got a special gift./Do you see how you're changing the world/just by hanging around?" It doesn't get much more enchanting than that.

Love is something that seeps into almost every Of Montreal albums -- love, kissing, lovers, and relationships that either bloom or slowly decline. "Cherry Peel" is mostly on that subject, although it does dip into feel-good ditties here and there ("No matter how you died through winter,/In spring you're born again,/Your life might not be going good,/But spring helps you to pretend.")

The Elephant 6 bands are known for having a sort of sixties vibe. "Cherry Peel" has the sunniness from the best of the sixties pop, along with the sparkling multilayered melodies. But the musical tinkering is too sparse compared to their later work. The acoustic guitar takes center stage, with a bit of sitar and muted percussion woven in.

With music so simple, it's up to Kevin Barnes to keep things weird. Some songs have straightforward lyrics, but others say that "I'd like to marry all of my close friends,/And live in a big house together by an angry sea." Not to mention "The birds have no heads when you come around./Everything loses its legs when you come around." Is that a good thing or not? Who cares, it's all strange and sweet.

"Cherry Peel" is a relatively unpolished piece of work by Of Montreal, and doesn't dip as far into musical madness as their later work. But as a collection of oddball love songs, few things can match it.

Of Montreal's first, and still their best, "Cherry Peel" is an indie pop delight like none other. Though parts of the album are weaker, and it winds down near the end, Kevin Barnes' frank writings on the meaning of love (especially the puppy love of crushes) and the band's flawless pop style makes up for their shortcomings. It is dissapointing that Of Montreal will probably never make an album on this subject again, but on the other hand they don't really need to. If any song has ever captured the meaning of brief love, it's "Baby" and if any song has ever got down exactly how it is to be unsure about another's feelings and thus having a hard time sorting out your own, it's "Don't Ask Me to Explain".

It opens with a simple, but characteristically strange love song, "Everything Dissapears When You Come Around", and it never leaves it's core themes. And there's nothing wrong with that. It'd be a classic if it weren't for some of the later songs and the unfortunate fact that the cheap recording equipment mars the album's beauty at times. Still, I have to say you should pick it up.

this is a gorgeous record...it's hard to believe i've owned it for 5 years because i still keep listening to it. i think the reason is the songs have a timeless quality to them--ignore what people say about a "sixties" influence, these songs could have been written in 1920 or last week, and it wouldn't matter. it's pop at its best, but there are elements of waltzes and quasi-jazz here as well. essentially, it's folk music as written by burt bachrach, or better yet, quit comparing them to others and just enjoy. this stuff is great. and your girlfriend will like it too!

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5.0 out of 5 stars I slipped on this Cherry Peel!
This cd is on repeat in my cd player. Infact I have two one far my car and stereo. Even though I'm indifferent to living in a feather house somehow I can realate. Read more

Published on April 27 2000 by Sara Beck

3.0 out of 5 stars Clever And Charming But Ultimately A Bit Disappointing
Pop Kulcher Review: Maybe I was just expecting too much. I'm a huge fan of most of the Elephant 6 stable, and was blown over by the single "Don't Ask Me To Explain. Read more

Published on Oct 26 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars the best collection of songs this decade has heard
quite minimalist in production; quite genius in melodic orchestration; brilliant songwriting-pop music has never heard such harmonic and intelligent melodies.... Read more

Published on April 15 1999 by tygermilk@hotmail.com

5.0 out of 5 stars Top of the Pops in 1997
This disc is a must have for fans of Beatles, Beach Boys, Apples In Stereo, etc.. My favorite in 1997.

Published on April 21 1998

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