Skeletal Lamping may be bizarre, complicated, and dense, but it's also extremely catchy and packed with slinky grooves that demand a physical response.  Instantly ingratiating hooks abound as Kevin Barnes' compositions constantly mutate and shape-shift in ways that defy conventional pop song structure and album sequencing.  Nevertheless, the record has its own internal logic, and its many tangents and detours feel entirely intuitive and organic in context.  The movements mimic the shapeless, mystifying mingling of thoughts and emotions in the human mind, so even the most deliberately jarring transitions evoke a sudden shift in attention that is recognizable and commonplace, but rarely emulated in mainstream music.

Though of Montreal have never been strangers to expressing sexuality in their music, Skeletal Lamping finds Barnes fully immersed in the topic. Throughout the record, sexuality is presented as a broad continuum encompassing a wide range of experiences, anxieties, emotions and orientations.  Barnes openly explores sex and gender roles without insecurity. He attempts to bring all of his fantasies, and terrors, to the surface, so as to better understand the machinery behind them. In Skeletal Lamping, Barnes argues that identity is fluid, malleable, and limited only by one's imagination.

The CD packaging is a completely unique 32-panel fold-out/pop-up art piece by David Barnes and Gemini Tactics.  The deluxe gatefold 2xLP on 180 gram vinyl includes printed innersleeves and a limited-edition giant horse die-cut poster.

This is a part of the Skeletal Lamping Collection.

Skeletal Lamping exists in seven different packaging formats: CD, LP, T-shirt, tote bag, button set, paper lantern, and wall decals. Each item in the Skeletal Lamping Collection includes both the digital album and its unique packaging of the album art.