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of Montreal is an
American indie pop band formed in
Athens, Georgia, fronted by Kevin Barnes. It was among the second wave of groups to emerge from
the Elephant Six Collective.
History
Created by Kevin Barnes after a failed romance with a woman from
Montreal, Barnes was the only member of the "group" prior to his relocation to Athens, Georgia. There, he met
Derek Almstead, later of the
Circulatory System,
M Coast,
Elf Power, etc., and
Bryan Poole, who also performs as
The Late B.P. Helium. Together, they recorded their first album,
Cherry Peel, as well as
The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit's Flower and
The Bedside Drama: A Petite Tragedy.
After production on
The Gay Parade began in 1998, Poole left the band to focus on his duties with
Elf Power, another Elephant Six band from Athens. Barnes recruited Jamey Huggins and Dottie Alexander, who had been performing together as Lightning Bug vs. Firefly, to play various instruments. Derek moved from drums to bass. They were soonafter joined by
Marshmallow Coast's Andy Gonzales.
A number of singles and a re-release of
The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit's Flower occurred before the release of the band's third album,
The Gay Parade in 1999. With contributions from countless members of the Elephant Six collective at the time, it also featured artwork from Kevin's brother
David Barnes, who would continue to do artwork for future albums.
Following the release of
The Gay Parade, the band would sign with
Kindercore Records, who would release a number of singles and compilations. It wasn't until 2001 that
Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse would be released as a new album with original material. The album again featured contributions from across the Elephant Six spectrum.
271px|thumb|left|Of Montreal front figure Kevin Barnes playing in Sweden in
2005">[Gothenburg,
Sweden in
2005]In 2002,
Aldhils Arboretum was released, with a slightly different sound than its predecessors, as the songs were more directly structured. A successful tour ensued, along with a tour-only
EP.
Kindercore Records would fold shortly after the release of
Arboretum, and the state of Of Montreal was also threatened. Kevin got married, and Andy and Derek left the band. Barnes being uncomfortable with the unrest, as well as some divisions within the band, took to writing and performing their 2004 album
Satanic Panic in the Attic mostly by himself. Released by
Polyvinyl Records, it became one of their more successful efforts to that point, the album marked a shift to an
electronica bass, with
drum machines and
synthesizers featured in singles such as "Disconnect the Dots."
This style would continue to evolve into 2005's
The Sunlandic Twins, which was even more of Barnes solo effort. Recorded in Athens with the exception of one track, which was recorded in Norway, it was a much more pronounced electronic album. The album became a success, mostly due to the singles "So Begins Our Alabee" and the
MTV clip for "Wraith Pinned to the Mist (and Other Games)."
The song "Wraith Pinned to the Mist (And Other Games)" can be heard on radio and television commercials with words changed for an advertisement for
Outback Steakhouse. Similarly, their B-side track, "Everyday Feels Like Sunday", is currently being used in a television commercial for
NASDAQ.
The band released several collections of singles in early 2006. They recorded a new album for release in January 2007 titled
Hissing Fauna: Are You the Destroyer?Style
The group has a style that is typical of many Elephant Six bands due to its interests in combining musical experimentation and the basic tenets of
pop, such as catchy
melodies and sing along
choruses. The band's style has been influenced by not only more conventional
indie pop and
psychedelic music, but also by
vaudeville and
music hall on their earlier releases and by
afrobeat and
reggae in their more recent releases.
The band's style has been known to change between albums. At first, the band embraced a more simple, quirky,
lo-fi indie pop sound, which occasionally bordered on
twee pop. As time progressed, the band moved to a fuller sound, as seen on the concept albums
The Gay Parade, and its follow-up,
Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse. These albums contain more narrative lyrics, as opposed to the rather personal lyrical matter of those preceding it, and often imitating the style of old
1950s radio plays.
2004's
Satanic Panic in the Attic marked the result of an evolving change in style. The sound shifted to something more electronic with traditional structures, to be further advanced in later albums and new songs. In their most recent releases and concerts they have fully embraced a sort of techno-pop glam image, with little of their previous incarnations surfacing.
Lyrically, many songs involve small
narratives surrounding invented
characters (in songs such as "Jacques Lamure," "The Autobiographical Grandpa," "Mimi Merlot" and "Rose Robert"). Others act as extracts from fictional conversations ("Advice From a Divorced Gentleman to His Bachelor Friend Considering Marriage" and "Good Morning Mr. Edminton" as examples). However, this feature is not as prevalent in their earliest and most recent albums.
Another unique quality of the band is the fusion of ostensibly gloomy lyrics with bouncy, up beat melodies and
hooks. On
Aldhils Arboretum, for example, the lyrics for tracks like "Doing Nothing" and "Old People in the Cemetery" focus on
apathy,
loneliness or
death while being contrasted with cheerful instrumentation. Another example of this tendency is shown in their choice of covers; for example,
Yoko Ono's "I Felt Like Smashing my Head Through a Clear Glass Window" from
The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit's Flower.
Side projects
True to the style of most Elephant Six recording artists, of Montreal's members have been in a variety of side projects and other bands.
*The band itself has performed as the backing band for
Marshmallow Coast on record and on tour.
*
My First Keyboard was the pseudonym used by Dottie Alexander to release the song "The You I Created" on the
Kindercore singles club. Of Montreal acted as her backing band.
*Kevin Barnes did a comedy tour with his wife, Nina, and his brother, David, called "
A Pollinaire Rave."
*Jamey Huggins released an album under the name "James Husband" which featured a cover of The Beatles' "We Can Work it Out"
*Bryan Poole has a solo career as
the Late B.P. Helium.
*Kevin Barnes has recently been collaborating with Andrew from
MGMT, as Ocelot
*Derek Almstead has worked with many artists as a musician and engineer including his collaboration with Andy Gonzales
M Coast.
Discography
Albums
*
Cherry Peel (LP/CD) -
Bar/None - 1997
*
The Bedside Drama: A Petite Tragedy (CD/LP) - Kindercore Records - 1998
*
The Gay Parade (CD/LP) - Kindercore Records - 1999
*
Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse (CD/LP) - Kindercore - 2001
*
Aldhils Arboretum (CD/LP) - Kindercore Records - 2002
*
Satanic Panic in the Attic (CD/LP) - Polyvinyl Record Company - 2004
*
The Sunlandic Twins (CD/LP) - Polyvinyl - 2005
*
Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? (CD/2xLP) - Polyvinyl - 2007
Compilations
*
Horse & Elephant Eatery (No Elephants Allowed): The Singles and Songles Album (CD/LP) - Bar/None Records - 2000
*
The Early Four Track Recordings (CD/LP) - Kindercore Records - 2001
*
An Introduction to Of Montreal (LP) -
Earworm - 2001
*
If He is Protecting Our Nation, Then Who Will Protect Big Oil, Our Children? (CD) -
Track & Field Organisation - 2003
*
The Gladiator Nightstick Collection (LP) -
Devil in the Woods - 2004
*
The Satanic Twins (Limited Edition LP/Digital release) - Polyvinyl - 2006
*
Of Montreal Sampler (Free Promo CD) - Polyvinyl - 2006
EPs
*
The Bird Who Ate the Rabbit's Flower (CD/LP) - Kindercore - 1997
*
The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit's Flower (CD/LP) - Kindercore - 1998
*
Deflated Chime, Foals Slightly Flower Sibylline Responses (CD) - Polyvinyl - 2006
*
Icons, Abstract Thee (CD) - Polyvinyl, 2006
Singles
*"Nicki Lighthouse" (7") -
100 Guitar Mania - 1998
*"Happy Happy Birthday To Me Singles Club: November" (7") -
Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records - 1999
*"Archibald of the Balding Sparrows" (7") - Kindercore - 2000 (Split with
Marshmallow Coast)
*"Kindercore Singles Club: September" (7") Kindercore - 2001 (Split with
Ladybug Transistor)
*"Split With the Late B.P. Helium" (7") -
Jonathan Whiskey - 2001
*"Jennifer Louise" (7") - Track & Field Organisation - 2003
*"Microuniversity" (7") -
Park The Van Records - 2006
*"Voltaic Crusher"/"Undrum to Muted Da" (7") -
Suicide Squeeze Records - 2006
*"She's a Rejector" (7") -
Polyvinyl Records - December 2006
Soundtracks
*
Music from the OC: Mix 5 (
2005 · Warner Bros./Wea)
External links
*
http://www.ofmontreal.net of Montreal's Official Site*
http://elephant6.com/bands/montreal.html of Montreal on Elephant6.com*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtlmyWDbVTw "So Begins Our Alabee" video by
http://www.hrwiki.org/index.php/Ryan_Sterritt Ryan Sterritt and
David Barnes*
http://www.thebeewithwheels.com Artwork by David Barnes*
http://e6townhall.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=9 of Montreal discussion board*
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4680762 of Montreal on National Public Radio*
http://www.timmcmahan.com/ofmontreal.htm Lazy-i Interview from April 2004
References
* Barnes, Kevin (2006), Interview with Cassie Smith, Feb. 11th, 2006. Aired on the Georgia Music Show on 88.5 WRAS Atlanta on March 19th, 2006.
Category:1990s music groupsCategory:2000s music groupsCategory:American musical groupsCategory:Georgia (U.S. state) musical groupsCategory:Indie pop groupsCategory:Indie rock groupsCategory:Musical collectiveses:Of Montrealno:Of Montreal
