The concept album is pretty much hit or miss.
If it works, the album finds itself in the company of classics like "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "The Wall" and "Ziggy Stardust." If it doesn't work, fans are disappointed, jokes are written and careers can be ruined.
Radiohead brought the concept album into the technology age with 1996's "OK Computer." Last year, perennial teenagers Green Day offered their version with the rock opera "American Idiot," forging a path away from their mock-punk followers.
Probably the best thing about the concept album is not the artistic merit it represents. It's the fact that any great concept album contains a number of great songs, and that to enjoy those songs you don't really have to understand the concept at all.
I know that Of Montreal's seventh studio release, "The Sunlandic Twins," is a concept album.
I know this because the last couple releases from Of Montreal have been concept albums and because Kevin Barnes, the band's father, anchor and creative genius, called it an "electro pop opera," which sure sounds exciting.
So I'm sure there is a concept that inspired and unites "The Sunlandic Twins," but I'm not entirely sure I get what it is.
Because whatever the concept is, at the surface level, "The Sunlandic Twins" is a pretty great 60s-style sunny pop album. Dig a little deeper and you'll find subtle electronics and dance-worthy rhythms.
The concept behind "The Sunlandic Twins" probably lies somewhere in the lyrics, which don't make it any easier to comprehend. Barnes' words make even the Shins' abstruse poetry seem generic. Actual song titles include: "Forecast Fascist Future," "So Begins Our Alabee" and "The Repudiated Immortals."
The lyrics may be absurd at times, but they're fun to quote. And if you aren't hearing, "Let's pretend we don't exist; let's pretend we're in Antarctica," repeatedly in your head after one listen to "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games," you must be deaf, or at least immune to ear candy.
The Shins are a good reference point, because they are the one of the few contemporary bands that has an obvious relationship to the album.
Many of the songs suggest what "Chutes Too Narrow" would've sounded like if James Mercer made it out to the club more often.
Like Of Montreal's previous work, most of the influence on this album came from the rich harmonies and lush melodies of the Beach Boys, The Beatles and the Kinks.
Continuing the direction of their last album, the critically adored "Satanic Panic In the Attic," electronic influences build to the mix without distracting from it.
It's apparent Barnes has a short attention span. This translates into songs that are instantly catchy and are either short or will suddenly shift gears, just as your attention is threatening abandonment.
Seven albums in, Barnes knows what he is doing, so you just have to trust him, even if you're not sure where he's going.
With "The Sunlandic Twins," Of Montreal continues their tradition of producing solid and accessible, but thought-provoking, pop music.
If you only want a quick fix, the album comes with a four-song bonus E.P. that's just as good as the full-length.
