Of Montreal bloom with sweet Georgie Fruit

Of Montreal

ALBUM: Skeletal Lamping

LABEL: Polyvinyl Record Co.

Meet Georgie Fruit , a black ex-convict with a penchant for psychedelic rock and rhythmic electronica. He enjoys frequent sex-changes, midnight raids on Swedish plum trees, kissing your eyelids and corrupting your dreams. By day, Georgie hides in the mind of Kevin Barnes, the leader of the Athens, Ga.-based band Of Montreal on their latest album "Skeletal Lamping."

Like a neon-lit rollercoaster with corkscrews and a surprise photo shot, the final product is a swirling, ecstatic mish-mash of looping instrumental tracks, energetic clap-claps and lyrics wrapped with twisted romance. Each and every song on this album busts out a surprising twist or halting melody shift.

The album's opening track, “An Eluardian Instance,” is a jingling tune about romantic nostalgia and adolescent adventuring. The song is a flip-book of past adventures, with the bridge humming, “Now, I'm viewing my memory reel in reverse.” Toward the end of the song, the music changes gears to find a darker spot in Georgie Fruit's mind, warning, “Don't you pimp out my heart.”

Another perfect example of the band's constant hankering to shift from pop to electronic and back is evident in “Nonpareil of Favor ,” which endures six melody changes in six minutes. The song opens with an artful bit of speedy guitar picking, drops to ballad pace, revs up to rock jam-session and ends right where it started.

Of Montreal dives farther into its contorted, jovial emotional flip-flops in “Gallery Piece .” The verses holler, “I want to make you scream; I want to braid your hair. I want to kiss your friends; I want to make you laugh.” The intermingling endearment and torture is supplemented oddly by the bouncy rhythmic progression and blaring horns. This song further subscribes to trippy dance-pop music traditions by shouting “Can you clap your hands? Clap clap. Can you sing it?”

“Skeletal Lamping” never missteps in its exploration of pop rhythms, psychedelic swooning or electronic beating. From the hammering guitar in “Nonpareil of Favor” to the screaming “Waaaoo” in “Id Engager ,” every swoop and dive of this lyrical rollercoaster is a delightful treat for your cochleae.

Georgie Fruit may not be a superhero alter-ego in the traditional sense. He doesn't save children from burning buildings or somehow halt imminent train crashes, but he strives to “write you books ... turn you on ... [and] make you come 200 times a day,” and that is heroic in itself.