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Paralytic Stalks
Studio album by of Montreal
Released	February 7, 2012
Recorded	Sunlandic Studios (Athens, Georgia)
Genre	Psychedelic pop psychedelic rock experimental pop
Length	58:05
Label	Polyvinyl
Producer	Kevin Barnes
Of Montreal chronology
thecontrollersphere (2011) Paralytic Stalks (2012) Daughter of Cloud (2012)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	62/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The A.V. Club	B+
Consequence of Sound
Drowned In Sound	7/10
Paste Magazine	7.2/10
Pitchfork	4.6/10
Rolling Stone
Sputnikmusic
Tiny Mix Tapes
Under the Radar

Paralytic Stalks is the eleventh full-length studio album by American group of Montreal. It was released on the Polyvinyl website and in stores on February 7, 2012. The band released the album in several formats, including music download, CD, cassette, vinyl, and a special-edition "Fuchsia Purple" vinyl, which was limited to 1,500 copies. Later pressings of the vinyl were offered in yellow as well as black vinyl. All physical versions of the album featured free digital downloads. To support the release of the album, of Montreal toured America in early 2012.

Sound and style

The recording of the album is dense, featuring dark tones and an indiscriminate eclectic nature both electronically and aesthetically. The album features a wide array of music, ranging from "pseudo-country" and, to a larger degree, neo-prog often switching and mixing music styles multiple times through the course of a song. Most of the recording was done with a Synclavier 9600 workstation. Kevin Barnes's lyricism also returns to the confessional style heard in Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, entailing dark topics such as revenge, self-hatred, the human condition, and their painful relationship with their wife Nina. It has been called their most personal recording to date.

Recording

The album was recorded in Barnes' personal studio and was mixed at Chase Park Transduction with engineer Drew Vandenberg, who has mixed albums by Toro y Moi, Futurebirds, and Kishi Bashi. Kevin is the producer, songwriter, and co-engineer for the album. The album features a crew of hired session musicians for the first time in of Montreal's history and features horn and flute player Zac Colwell as a new addition to the band's line-up. While Kevin Barnes is known to take primary creative control of their recordings, K. Ishibashi of Kishi Bashi was a known collaborator on this record and was said by Barnes to have helped shape the songs.

Reception

The reception from critics has been mixed, with the average critical score being a 62 out of 100, according to Metacritic. Some have praised its emotional rawness, while others thought its divergence from the band's previous poppy style was alienating.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kevin Barnes

Credits

• Mixed by Kevin Barnes and Drew Vandenberg at Chase Park Transduction
• Mastered by Greg Calbi

References

1. Paralytic Stalks Reviews - Metacritic
2. Paralytic Stalks - Of Montreal : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic
3. Of Montreal: Paralytic Stalks | Music | MusicalWork Review | The A.V. Club
4. Album Review: of Montreal – Paralytic Stalks | Consequence of Sound
5. "of Montreal - Paralytic Stalks Album Review for Drowned In Sound". Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
6. of Montreal: Paralytic Stalks :: Music :: Reviews :: Paste
7. Fitzmaurice, Larry (6 February 2012). "Of Montreal: Paralytic Stalks Album Review". Pitchfork.
8. Paralytic Stalks | Album Reviews | Rolling Stone
9. "of Montreal - Paralytic Stalks Album Review". Sputnikmusic.
10. "of Montreal - Paralytic Stalks Album Review for Tiny Mix Tapes".
11. of Montreal: Paralytic Stalks (Polyvinyl) | Under The Radar
12. Polyvinyl Record Co. - of Montreal - Paralytic Stalks
13. Of Montreal Taking 'Paralytic Stalks' on Ambitious 2012 Tour | SPIN | Newswire
14. Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes Learns to Play With Others on 'Paralytic Stalks' - Spinner
15. "Paralytic Stalks".
16. "Of Montreal: Paralytic Stalks".

v t e of Montreal
Kevin Barnes Clayton Rychlik Jojo Glidewell Michael Wheeler Elizabeth Wheeler Taber Lathrop Bryan Poole Derek Almstead Dottie Alexander James Husband Jason NeSmith Kishi Bashi
Full-length albums	Cherry Peel The Bedside Drama: A Petite Tragedy The Gay Parade Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse Aldhils Arboretum Satanic Panic in the Attic The Sunlandic Twins Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? Skeletal Lamping False Priest Paralytic Stalks Lousy with Sylvianbriar Aureate Gloom Innocence Reaches White Is Relic/Irrealis Mood Ur Fun Freewave Lucifer Fck Fck Fck Lady on the Cusp
EPs	The Bird Who Ate the Rabbit's Flower The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit's Flower Deflated Chime, Foals Slightly Flower Sibylline Responses Icons, Abstract Thee thecontrollersphere Rune Husk
Compilations	Horse & Elephant Eatery (No Elephants Allowed): The Singles and Songles Album The Early Four Track Recordings An Introduction to Of Montreal If He Is Protecting Our Nation, Then Who Will Protect Big Oil, Our Children? The Gladiator Nightstick Collection Satanic Twins Daughter of Cloud
Related articles	Discography The Elephant 6 Recording Company Music of Athens, Georgia A Pollinaire Rave Polyvinyl Records Kindercore Records Bar/None Records Kishi Bashi
Category

• Of Montreal albums
• 2012 albums
• Polyvinyl Record Co. albums
• Sound collage albums
• Elephant 6 albums