Of Montreal

Longtime Of Montreal fans are probably still scratching their heads over the band's transformation from paisley-printed jangle-popsters to day-glo disco saviors. The about-face has paid off handsomely for the band, though, as frontman Kevin Barnes continues to settle into his role as the indie crowd's Prince — writing and recording dark but danceable records that plumb his psyche with a visceral edge. Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? remains a front-runner for album of the year in how it takes the hackneyed conceit of the breakup record and turns it into a dubby, narcotic dance party. If all the introspection is too much to handle, you can always fall under the spell of Barnes' glam persona and the band's costume-and-prop-enhanced live show.