One of our favorite albums this year is Of Montreal's The Sunlandic Twins, a rollicking, silly LP bursting with brilliant pop melodies and perfectly synchronized vocals. The album all but eschews pretense, which we find altogether refreshing given today's overabundance of self-righteous, haute-couture-on-a-disc indie pop-rock. This might be because Of Montreal have been around since, well, forever: starting in the mid-90s with Bar/None and the now-defunct Kindercore Records, their discography has grown steadily on a yearly basis.

Their latest release is described by frontman Kevin Barnes as a "foray into 21st century A.D.D. electro-cinematic avant-disco", which sounds like an awkward abstraction but nevertheless describes the quirky sound of The Sunlandic Twins pretty accurately. Drawing inspiration from The Beatles's early years, late 50's doo-wop ballads, and at times an uncanny imitation of Queen, Of Montreal are able to pair bright harmonies with stimulating electropop beats. Listening to the album transports us to our happy place, where it's perpetually summertime and our days are spent tanning poolside. If you've driven next to us in the last few weeks, you might have overheard us trying our best to match Barnes' airy falsetto on painfully beautiful tracks like "Wraith Pinned To The Mist." For that, we apologize.

Click here to download Of Montreal's cover of The Shins' "Know Your Onion."

You can catch them at their in-store performance at Waterloo Records tomorrow at 5pm, or hear their full set at the Parish Room later that evening. Tickets are still available online, but we suspect it will be a packed room.

Of Montreal
CD Release Show
The Parish Room
Doors at 9:30