of Montreal

Of Montreal’s Daughter Of Cloud, a collection of unreleased tracks from the past five years, still has mastermind Kevin Barnes’ psychedelic charm. But since the band’s peak with its 2007 album Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?, every one of its releases has been directed toward a perpetually shrinking base of die-hard fans.

The opening track, “Our Love Is Senile,” reels you in with a catchy melody reminiscent of Hissing Fauna, though not as substantial.

Daughter Of Cloud continues with a wider variety of sounds than previous albums. In “Sails, Hermaphroditic,” Barnes manages to come across like a new-millennium David Bowie both with the song itself and his vocals.

Fillers like “Steppin’ Out” and “Hindlopp Stat” are mashed-up leftover sounds from previous jam sessions, sewn together without a common thread. They’re interesting at face value, but are too dense and scatterbrained to enjoy.

Although the opening track has mainstream appeal, “Feminine Effects,” arguably the best track on Daughter Of Cloud, is made so by the syrupy lead vocals of Rebecca Cash. The song is a slow-paced but soothing break from the musical masturbations of the bulk of the album, and asserts that Barnes can still carry one idea all the way through a song without getting too caught up in a storm of conflicting sounds.

Daughter Of Cloud is just good enough to warrant continued loyalty to of Montreal, but as Barnes’ musical sounds become more erratic, the band risks losing its broader appeal.