When I first reviewed If He Is Protecting Our Nation, Then Who Will Protect Big Oil, Our Children? four years ago, Of Montreal were still a relatively unknown psychedelic indie pop band. In the time since, Kevin Barnes has embraced electro beats and glam-rock decadence, and Of Montreal have risen to that odd plateau of notoriety called "indie famous." I'll admit to being more ambivalent than most about the band's latest direction. While the Of Montreal of yore still traded in serpentine melodies and breakneck chord changes, their frenetic overstatement often served as a Wizard of Oz-style front for charming understatement. Of Montreal's new sound is more immediate and holistic, but part of me misses the bizarro tension of their older work.
The funny thing is, listening to If He Is Protecting Our Nation now is leading me to a newfound appreciation for Of Montreal's more recent recordings. As an odds-and-ends collection of alternate versions, covers, and toss-offs originally released as a tour-only CD, Our Nation lays bare the limitations of the band's initial bag of tricks. For all of its kee-razy bells and whistles, the band's fractured indie pop wasn't all that versatile, and could be kind of unbelievably obnoxious when lacking in focus or direction.
Opener "My, What a Strange Day With a Swede" is labyrinthine and hyperactive as expected, but lacks the strong melodic sensibility of Barnes' best work. In the absence of a memorable hook, the band's stylistic tics can be jarring. "Inside a Room Full of Treasures a Black Pygmy Horse's Head Pops Up Like a Periscope" (whew!) is a subpar example of the dramatic, carnivalesque compositions that Of Montreal perfected on Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse, though a reference to Cat Power's Chan Marshall at least makes for an awesome "WTF?" moment. And a "beatnik" version of Coquelicot's "Mimi Merlot" is little more than a half-minute goof.
The sarcastic histrionics of "There Is Nothing Wrong With Hating Rock Critics" missed me the first time around, but it's actually one of the more entertaining songs on the album, simple in its construction and hilarious in its execution. "Girl from NYC (Named Julia)" builds from a solo acoustic intro to a satisfying full-band bridge, but the song itself is far from Barnes' best. Indeed, If He Is Protecting Our Nation betrays a much-of-muchness about Barnes' off-kilter melodic wizardry that never really surfaces on any of the band's proper full-lengths.
Throughout Of Montreal's life as a band, Kevin Barnes has excelled at unconventionally catchy and cleverly constructed songwriting. Such songs don't write and arrange themselves, and even Of Montreal's most chaotic moments rarely come off as half-assed or unconsidered. Much of If He Is Protecting Our Nation, however, seems hopelessly underdeveloped, most songs happening upon a handful of good ideas but failing to follow through on them. Now on its second re-release, If He Is Protecting Our Nation is just as inessential as ever.
