Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?

of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
Critic Score
Based on 23 reviews
2007 Ratings: #165 / 717
Year End Rank: #10
User Score
Based on 760 ratings
2007 Rank: #28
Liked by 164 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

90
Tiny Mix Tapes
What makes these songs so positively delicious, in the same way that going on a bender can be a welcome alternative to crying into a pillow, is that Barnes realizes how seductive misery can be.
90
PopMatters
This is a cohesive, serious album. It is distressing, depressed, isolated, alienating, and probably the best Of Montreal album to date.
90
Alternative Press

On their eighth album, Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?, Kevin Barnes & Co. have created their most introspective record to date.

87
Pitchfork

It's not the direction many of their fans might've imagined they'd take, but it's that very attribute that makes it so ceaselessly fascinating and inexhaustibly replayable.

85
The Line of Best Fit

Hissing Fauna, like any previous Of Montreal album before it, offers a varied palette and it is fitting that this chiaroscuro-themed album starts with the sound of a baby crying. It is yet another rebirth for Kevin Barnes and Of Montreal.

83
Coke Machine Glow

Hissing Fauna might be Barnes’ finest work yet, an opus built entirely of sugar.

80
Drowned in Sound
If there is one thing in this world that can elevate even the weakest of lyrics from the trough of personal diary hell, it’s a catchy melody. Thankfully this record overflows with them.
80
Q Magazine
An extraordinary record.
80
Prefix
Underneath all the faux-glamour is an artist with a proven knack for writing great pop songs and, more important, great lyrics.
80
No Ripcord
The lack of engaging realism has always been one of the major problems for Of Montreal and the new material goes a long way towards solving it.
80
Paste

Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? is probably the most fun one can reasonably have while wrestling with somebody else’s demons.

80
AllMusic

It's a challenging but ultimately rewarding album -- and one that definitely requires some thoughtful attention from the listener.

75
A.V. Club
It's all darkly beautiful, because Barnes continues to emote more through the music than through his words.
70
Slant Magazine
An album of relatively accessible pop music that pulses with the pain of a life in pieces.
70
SPIN

Hissing Fauna might be an album of ego trips, but at least Barnes is on the good stuff.

70
NME
This Athens, Georgia collective have blossomed from winsome indie-pop virgins to frocked-up future pop stars, beaming their febrile college rock through a kaleidoscope of sleazy funk, electronica jitters, and 'Fear Of Music'-style Talking Heads ethno-beat.
60
Under the Radar

Everything's going just swell on Hissing Fauna--from moody to hyper hip shaking to stand-still hipster pose--until Barnes stops it all with the twelve minute "The Past is a Grotesque Animal."

60
Rolling Stone
An intermittently pleasurable record from a talented songwriter with an overstuffed brain.
60
The Guardian
The second half is dominated by a seedy funk that feels at once self-indulgent and unappetising, despite the odd dazzling moment.
60
Uncut

At best, Hissing Fauna... posits its creator as the missing link between Hot Chip and Morrissey.

60
Mojo
His gifts remain undiminished.
40
NOW Magazine
Most of what Barnes throws together here doesn't get beyond annoying pastiche, and he still lacks the chops as a wordsmith to magically transform mediocre jams into memorable songs.
Bobby792003
100

NOTE: THANKS FOR 800+ FOLLOWERS! To celebrate, I’ll review my favorite album on its 16th birthday. Also, to anyone who sees this, please listen, rate and review this album! It definitely deserves the praise. It’s also upsetting to see this album have about 450 ratings, barely missing the user must-hear list. But I know it’ll happen soon with the help of all my friends and fans! So without further ado, enjoy this review!

“Either you don’t know who of ... read more

Pieter
85

I love gay people, I wish they were real

ViVerna
91

β­•πŸ’ πŸ‡πŸ’ β­•
Hi @Bobby792003 :)

Hissing Fauna is somewhat of a meme on this site, mainly because of the dedication from the aforementioned user to get more eyes on this project, once even being tagged “bobby” until the tag was removed (edit: it's back!). I say that with respect though, because I think everyone has a piece of media that they are very passionate about and hold dearly, myself included, so I think it’s great he really enjoys and promotes this project! It ... read more

FLB36
94

Very catchy from top to bottom

Synicritic
81

I’m convinced that Kevin Barnes is the James Murphy of psychedelic music. It’s like dance-indie rock fusion from LCD Soundsystem & the experimentalism of Animal Collective, and maybe a hint of MGMT. It took me a few listens but this album is very good, it has so many different sounding songs and Kevin Barnes just takes their voice to SO many different places it’s kind of insane

88

some of the best transitions ever.

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