Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? is the eighth album by American indie pop band of Montreal, released on January 7, 2007. The album was written, performed, and recorded by Kevin Barnes, with assistance from friends and family: prominent Elephant Six members Bryan Poole, Jamey Huggins and Heather McIntosh, as well as Barnes' wife Nina Grottland, credited as Nina Twin, and daughter Alabee Barnes, credited as Alabee Blonde. Credits also feature Georgie Fruit, a glam rock alter ego of Barnes.

Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
Studio album by
of Montreal
ReleasedJanuary 7, 2007
RecordedJanuary 2005 - March 2006
GenreIndie pop, glam rock, art pop, experimental pop, neo-psychedelia
Length51:22 (CD)
68:32 (LP)
LabelPolyvinyl
ProducerKevin Barnes
Of Montreal chronology
Satanic Twins
(2006)		 Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
(2007)		 Icons, Abstract Thee
(2007)
Singles from Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
  1. "Faberge Falls for Shuggie"
    Released: December 5, 2006
  2. "She's a Rejecter"
    Released: December 5, 2006
  3. "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse"
    Released: January 23, 2007
  4. "Suffer for Fashion"
    Released: July 17, 2007
  5. "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal"
    Released: July 27, 2010
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The A.V. ClubB[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[4]
The Guardian[5]
Los Angeles Times[6]
NME7/10[7]
Pitchfork8.7/10[8]
Q[9]
Rolling Stone[10]
Spin[11]

Background

Barnes has described the album as a concept album, detailing their transformation from Kevin Barnes into Georgie Fruit. Georgie Fruit exists as Kevin Barnes' alter ego, which they will assume for the final half of the album, as well as the two subsequent LPs, Skeletal Lamping and False Priest. According to "Labyrinthian Pomp," Georgie Fruit is a "dark mutation for my demented past time." The transformation takes place during "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal," the 12-minute-long "turning point" of the album. In addition, the album namechecks many things commonly associated with glam rock, such as drugs, art and fashion; "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal" alludes to Edward Albee's play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and specifically mentions Georges Bataille's novella Story of the Eye.

Barnes credits their being prescribed antidepressants with the making of the album. "The real issue was a chemical thing, so when I finally got on medication, that balanced it out. So that helped me have a better perspective on things and helped my relationship with my wife and helped me through [the album]."[12] "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse", the album's first single, chronicles their struggle with chemical imbalance and mood disorders.

Track listing

All songs written by Kevin Barnes.

  1. "Suffer for Fashion" – 2:59
  2. "Sink the Seine" – 1:04
  3. "Cato as a Pun" – 3:02
  4. "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse" – 3:18
  5. "Gronlandic Edit" – 3:24
  6. "A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger" – 4:54
  7. "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal" – 11:52
  8. "Bunny Ain't No Kind of Rider" – 3:51
  9. "Faberge Falls for Shuggie" – 4:31
  10. "Labyrinthian Pomp" – 3:21
  11. "She's a Rejecter" – 4:02
  12. "We Were Born the Mutants Again with Leafling" – 4:57

Bonus tracks on Australian edition
  1. "She Fell in Love" – 2:21
    • An alternate title for "Du Og Meg", based on the first line of the song.
  2. "Voltaic Crusher" – 2:04

Bonus tracks on double vinyl release

The double vinyl release of the album contains the twelve tracks on the first three sides. The fourth side contains four bonus tracks, which can also be found on the EP Icons, Abstract Thee.

  1. "Du Og Meg" – 2:21
  2. "Voltaic Crusher/Undrum to Muted Da" – 2:04
  3. "Derailments in a Place of Our Own" – 3:03
  4. "No Conclusion" – 9:42

Charts

Album
Year Chart Position
2007 The Billboard 200 72
2007 Billboard Top Independent Albums 2
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References
  1. "Reviews for Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? by Of Montreal". Metacritic. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  2. McClintock, J. Scott. "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? – Of Montreal". AllMusic. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  3. Gordon, Scott (January 23, 2007). "Of Montreal: Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  4. Greenblatt, Leah (January 19, 2007). "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 13, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  5. Costa, Maddy (February 9, 2007). "Of Montreal, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?". The Guardian. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  6. Powers, Ann (January 27, 2007). "Sleepless nights and singalongs". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  7. Pattison, Louis (February 9, 2007). "Of Montreal: Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?". NME. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  8. Mitchum, Rob (January 24, 2007). "Of Montreal: Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  9. "Of Montreal: Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?". Q (248): 115. March 2007.
  10. Hoard, Christian (January 22, 2007). "Of Montreal: Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 2, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  11. Ganz, Caryn (February 2007). "Of Montreal: Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?". Spin. 23 (2): 85. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  12. Rob Mitchum, Please Mr. Pharmacist: The New Breed of Drug Song, Pitchfork, March 12, 2007.
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