of Montreal

[Marvin]

I know we have the catch-all Elephant 6 thread Neil, but am I allowed a purely indulgent one for of Montreal as well?



I've had a soft spot for oM for awhile but then inspired by enjoying the new album, I've dug out The Sunlandic Twins and Satanic Panic in the Attic etc again and I've fallen in love with them again. It's hard to think of a better pure pop group, maybe The New Pornographers but oM are more consistent.

The sheer joy of listening to the deranged chord changes, harmonies and wonderful use of synths on their records is one of my favourite things musically at the moment, and Kevin Barnes is brilliant, his vocals are charming and I've only really picked up recently on what an excellent lyricist he is.

Take So Begins Our Alabee, a 4 minute synth pop song, with great vocal harmonies, a hugely dancable beat, great guitar parts. Then the lyrics, it's about Kevin becoming a father (Alabee is the name of his daughter), if most pop bands wrote a song about becoming a father you'd expect dull clichés and sentimentality, but this makes it sound so magical and the lyrics are so dense, taking in Roman mythology and romantic Italian poetry along the way:

The chrysalis is breaking and the super ego’s waking
I’ve been a gloomy Petrarch with a quill as weepy as Dido
You’re my mousy aesthete, you’re my bouyant cherub it’s true
And I never want to be your little friend the abject failure

or on another end of the scale, the great fun of My British Tour Diary (I wish they would come back and play over here again, I would kill to see them live). They also manage to do that rare of thing of writing really good songs about drugs. I love the simplicity of 'Disconnect The Dots'.

Whilst I'm here, here is the somewhat bizarre video to their new single:

and if you are new to the band, download the tracks above but check out these videos,

the amazingly catchy Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games:

and the lovely  Requiem for O.M.M.2:

[El Unicornio, mang]

I like them. They've certainly lost a lot of indie cred here though after altering the lyrics to "Wraith Pinned To The Mist And Other Games" for Outback steakhouse. It's toe curlingly bad:

[Marvin]

It is awful, it's true, but in fairness they didn't alter the lyrics themselves, they just licensed it out to them, still a bit shit obviously but at least they didn't do it themselves.

[Neil]

Oh, they're really great, remarkably consistent.  I really want to dig out The Gay Parade now, although admittedly I still haven't got round to checking out their new record yet.  Also, I burst out laughing the first time I saw one of their tabs, the amount of chrd changes are ridiculous, pretty much a chord for every word or two at times.

"#On our trip to England I noticed something obscene,
People still actually give a shit about the Queen.#"

[CaledonianGonzo]

They've just announced some UK dates:

05-28 Norwich, England - Norwich Arts Centre
05-29 London, England - Cargo
05-30 Cambridge, England - Soul Tree
05-31 Nottingham, England - Social
06-01 Manchester, England - Roadhouse
06-02 London, England - Chalk at Scala

I wave my nuts at the strictly southern reach of their tour, though*.



*Having seen those photos of Kevin Barnes's cock and balls, he'd probably join me.

[Analrapist]

Cargo? Holy fuck, intimate!

[poloniusmonk]

Excellent. Any idea where to get tickets - or have they not been put on sale yet? I can only find ones for Cambridge on See.

[Analrapist]

Ticketweb has the Scala but nothing else. Yeah, I'd like to know where they are as well.

[Marvin]

Fucking yes! Best news all day.

[Duckula]

I got tickets for the June 2nd date. Quite a trek for me but I've fallen madly in love with these guys over the past few weeks and really want to see them live.

[Neil]

You'll enjoy it, and leave a married man.  No Norn Iron dates?  FFS.  Same old story.

[poloniusmonk]

Cargo date seems to be 'TBC' on the band's myspace. I'll let folks know if I see any different anywhere.

[poloniusmonk]

Cargo tickets now on sale through See.

[Analrapist]

Thank you so much for the heads up, I just booked a ticket.

Can't wait for this!

[explodingvinyl]

06-01 Manchester, England - Roadhouse

I'm really looking forward to this.

[Marvin]

Cargo tickets now on sale through See.

Ooh thanks for the tip.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Heids up!

of Montreal European Summer Tour 2007!

July 20 - Skellefteå, SWEDEN - Trästockfestivalen
July 21 - Tønsberg, NORWAY - Slottsfjell Festival
July 24 - Helsinki, FINLAND - Redrum
July 25 - Turku, FINLAND - Dynamo
July 26 - Emmaboda, SWEDEN - Emmaboda Festival
July 27 - Östersund, SWEDEN - Storsjöyran
July 28 - Storås, NORWAY - Storåsfestivalen
July 29 - Huntingdon, ENGLAND - Secret Garden Party Festival
July 31 - Cardiff, WALES - The Point
August 01 - Dublin, IRELAND - Crawdaddy
August 02 - London, ENGLAND - Scala 16+
August 03 - Brighton, ENGLAND - Audio Brighton
August 04 - Barcelona, SPAIN - Razzmatazz
August 05 - Zambujeira do Mar, PORTUGAL - Festival Sudoeste

Growl....still no Scottish date!

[Marvin]

Yay, was gutted to miss them recently and now I may well see them twice this summer.

[poloniusmonk]

Yep, I'm going to the Scala date after having seen them at Cargo and successfully converted my girlfriend - who suggested we buy two extra tickets for friends as 'more people need to be exposed to this sort of stuff'. She is great.

[chocky909]

Got my ticket for the Scala gig today after checking them out due to reading this thread. Really looking forward to it, especially after listening to a live bootleg.

Surprised to read they're not from Montreal at all rather from Athens, Georgia.

EDIT: Uh what a crap post. I haven't the energy to improve it right now. Later maybe.

[chocky909]

Later it is.

Amazing stuff I have to say. I was slightly surprised because I was introduced to them only about 6 months ago and although I like the albums it wasn't until I heard a couple of recent live bootlegs that I realised I wanted to see them perform. Because of the bootlegs and listening to the last 3 or 4 albums mainly I was familiar with nearly every song played last night and could sing along with small chunks of them. The capacity was perfect for a boisterous yet intimate atmosphere. I agree that they started off a bit sloppily with very quiet vocals but with the third song they sprang into life. That band is amazingly tight at times, I don't know which of them are regulars of the band mind. I loved pretty much every song but I too was blown away by The Past Is a Grotesque Animal and hope there might be some more of that on the next album.

The stage antics were completely unanticipated by me. I had no idea they did stuff like that. Taking turns to go off stage and dress up and then do small sections of theatre, really unpretentious and joyous stuff. I went home covered in fake blood and glitter and got a seat on the bus home all to myself. All this time the music is playing. Many current bands could learn a thing or two from them about blending songs. Basically the music rarely stops and each song morphs into the next beautifully.

I got the impression it was a good gig even for them and they really seemed to enjoy it. The encore was great because the played Wraith which was the first song I heard by them and I thought they weren't going to play it. I was a little disappointed the crowd didn't bay for a second encore as I felt they would have been up for it. I guess I could have tried a bit harder.

A quick word for the supports. I really enjoyed Wave Machine - four Liverpudlian guys playing some very quirky but catchy little pop songs. I can't really think of anyone to compare them to right now but I recommend checking their myspace out. I also bought their handmade 4 track demo EP. Hopefully they'll release an album soon. Pull Tiger Tail were quite a tight enjoyable outfit too. Pretty generic XFM stuff though, not really my cup of tea.

Overall then, eight.

(If anyone spots where else I posted this review, a crisp internet fiver is yours)

[alan nagsworth]

Bumpasaurus.

This band is phenominal. Been into them for about a year now and I've finally gotten around to checking out their earlier works. Although I'll admit I didn't like it that much, it's plain to see Barnes was taking a lot of drugs when writing The Gay Parade and such, when compared to more recent works like Satanic Panic and Sunlandic Twins (and of course Hissing Fauna) where the whole bands sounds so much more focused. I'm extremely grateful for this though, Nina Twin seems to have sorted his head out and their new ventures as so much more ambitious. They've moved on from standard lo-fi psychedelia into electronic pastures and Barnes' vocals have matured very well, they just sound now more than ever like they're really got their heads screwed on. 'Lysergic Bliss' from Satanic Panic is a bloody lovely song, I didn't think it could get any better and then I'm hit with an outro (of sorts) of the most spectacular vocal melodies I've ever heard in their music.

I discovered Hissing Fauna when it was released (has previously been given Satanic Panic by a friend) and hadn't heard their earlier stuff, so I was kind of disappointed that their older stuff wasn't as bold and ambitious. Of course, this is through unbeknownst fault of my own due to listening to their work in the wrong order, and I'm sure die-hard fans will respect everything by this band as one big triumph rather than criticising each album. They seem like that kind of band, consistent and just generally very clever.

That said, I can now appreciate Hissing Fauna as a brilliant progression from applying electronic elements to their indie-pop stuff into full-on electro-glam- pop genius. By far the boldest move of their career and one which shows no signs of stopping just yet. They're far too good to call it a day now that BArnes has admitted he's now transformed into a glam-rock star, hehe.

I've just downloaded the Sunlandic Twins album and will be checking it out shortly. Let's get some more love for this obviously fanfreakintastic band.

[falafel]

Love love love.

They've evolved over the last six months to be my favourite band in the world ever. You name it, they've done it. What's more, 'Rapture Rapes The Muses' kicks seven bells of shit out of anything the Klaxons have ever done or will ever do... and it was released, what, three years ago?

Love love love. That is all.

edit: ugh, horrible tinny klaxons

[Duckula]

Anyone going to see them in a few weeks at the ULU? Black Kids are supporting, should be a great gig.

[Brundle-Fly]

Love this band. Discovered them about six or seven years ago by buying a best of vinyl LP simply for the cover art alone.  It doesn't seem to be on their site discography. Weird.

[hoverdonkey]

My interest is piqued. Which album do you suggest I start with?

[klaatu!]

I'd recommend Satanic Panic in the Attic. The first five tracks or so should give you an immediate hit.

[Marvin]

Or The Sunlandic Twins.

[falafel]

Well I started with Hissing Fauna...

All three are likely to pull you in pretty quickly, though.

[hoverdonkey]

Thanks very much. I shall investigate