They were among the second wave of groups to emerge from The Elephant 6 Recording Company and the group has a style that is typical of many Elephant 6 bands due to their interest in combining musical experimentation with the basic tenets of pop i.e. catchy melodies and sing-along choruses. The band’s style has been influenced by conventional indie pop, psychedelic music, vaudeville and music hall on their earlier releases and by afrobeat, funk, krautrock and reggae on their 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. The band was created by Kevin Barnes and named after a failed romance with a woman from Montreal, though the story changes in various interviews. Barnes was the only member of the “group” prior to his relocation to Athens, Georgia. There, he met Derek Almstead, later of 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.
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 several 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.
This album marked that the band had moved to a fuller sound, which is also found on its follow-up, Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse. These two 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.
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 also 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. The band was joined soon after by Marshmallow Coast’s Andy Gonzales.
Following the release of The Gay Parade, the band signed 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 6 spectrum.
In 2002, Aldhils Arboretum was released, with a slightly different sound than its predecessors, as the songs were more directly structured. This album marks the beginning of the change in of Montreal’s sound, with more danceable rhythms than ever before, especially on the album’s closer, “Death Dance Of The Omipapas and Sons For You”. A successful tour ensued, including of Montreal’s first trip to the UK, along with a tour-only EP.
Kindercore Records would fold shortly after the release of Arboretum, and of Montreal’s status 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 2004 tour saw The Late B.P. Helium (Bryan Poole) rejoin the band, with some bass played by Kevin’s partner Nina Barnes. The album marked a shift to something more electronic with traditional structures, to be further advanced in later albums and new songs. In their most recent releases and concerts, the band has fully embraced a sort of techno-pop glam image, with little of their previous incarnations surfacing. This style is featured in singles such as Disconnect the Dots. The style would continue to evolve into 2005’s The Sunlandic Twins, which was even more a Barnes solo effort. Recorded in Athens, with the exception of one track 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 band released several collections of singles in early 2006. Barnes recorded most of the band’s 2007 release, Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?, by himself while living in Norway and Athens, Georgia. The switch to autobiographical themes of suicide, depression and isolation of the album was a direct product of his troubled personal life during that period.
of Montreal released Skeletal Lamping on October 21, 2008 followed by False Priest on September 14, 2010, Paralytic Stalks on February 7, 2012, and Lousy with Sylvianbriar on October 8, 2013. Aureate Gloom is scheduled for release by Polyvinyl Records on March 3, 2015.
Lyrically, their style has changed dramatically throughout the years. In the beginning, many songs were narratives of personal or humorous situations, such as “Tim, I Wish You Were Born A Girl”, from Cherry Peel. This style, however, changed with The Gay Parade, where 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). With Aldhils Arboretum came a slight return to the previous writing style, except following more poppy, classical lyrical structures (such as the use of choruses, which are generally absent in the Gay Parade/Coquelicot years). This style continued throughout Satanic Panic and The Sunlandic Twins to some extent. On the album Hissing Fauna: Are You The Destroyer? the lyrics are much more personal than previously used, with songs detailing emotions within the speaker.
Another unique quality of the band is the fusion of ostensibly gloomy lyrics with bouncy, upbeat 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.
True to the style of most Elephant 6 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.
Du Og Meg
of Montreal Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
who spoke a second language
And who lived across the ocean
in the evil empire
He awoke her sleeping heart
and swept away the darkness
An acute fear of flying
Ooh, ooh, ooh
She landed on her feet
and joined his fledgling rock group
as they toured the evil empire
selling t-shirts at the shows
She taught him what was real
she taught him he was okay
That his thoughts were not just rubbish
that he had something good to give
Still his heart was so ambivalent and hopesick
of her he wasn't ever sure
But she gave in so sweetly that the spirit said
"Boy you better go run to her" [run to her]
So when she split he hopped on a plane
with his parents and his brother
He told her that he loved her
they were married in the summer
Ooh, ooh, ooh
In "Du Og Meg", of Montreal tells a story of love that transcends distance and language barriers. The song is about a girl who falls for a boy that speaks a second language and lives in a foreign land - the "evil empire". Despite the fear of flying, she travels to be with him and joins his rock group as they tour the foreign land, selling t-shirts at their shows. As they fall in love, she teaches him the importance of what is real and gives him the confidence to believe that his thoughts are not just rubbish. However, the boy's heart is ambivalent and hopesick, unsure of his feelings for her. Eventually, he realizes that he loves her and travels with his family to tell her. They get married in the summer and live happily ever after.
The lyrics convey the message that love can be found anywhere, even in the most unexpected places. The song teaches us to take risks for love despite the barriers that may be present. Additionally, it highlights the importance of communication in relationships; despite speaking different languages, the couple manages to share their thoughts and feelings, and learn from each other.
Line by Line Meaning
She fell in love with a boy
A girl fell in love with a boy
who spoke a second language
The boy spoke a second language that the girl found attractive
And who lived across the ocean
The boy lived in a different country than the girl
in the evil empire
The boy lived in a country that was viewed negatively
He awoke her sleeping heart
The boy made the girl fall in love
and swept away the darkness
The boy chased away any negative feelings in the girl
An acute fear of flying
The girl was scared of flying
couldn't keep her away
Her fear of flying did not prevent her from visiting the boy
She landed on her feet
The girl arrived safely
and joined his fledgling rock group
The girl joined the boy's new and inexperienced band
as they toured the evil empire
The band traveled around the country that was viewed negatively
selling t-shirts at the shows
The band sold merchandise at their performances
She taught him what was real
The girl taught the boy what was important in life
she taught him he was okay
The girl reminded the boy that he was good enough
That his thoughts were not just rubbish
The girl validated the boy's thoughts and ideas
that he had something good to give
The girl believed that the boy had talent and potential
Still his heart was so ambivalent and hopesick
The boy was conflicted and unsure about his feelings
of her he wasn't ever sure
The boy was never completely certain about his love for the girl
But she gave in so sweetly that the spirit said
The girl's surrender was so genuine that it seemed like fate
"Boy you better go run to her" [run to her]
The boy was encouraged to pursue the girl
So when she split he hopped on a plane
When the girl left, the boy immediately traveled to see her
with his parents and his brother
The boy's family accompanied him on the trip
He told her that he loved her
The boy expressed his love for the girl
they were married in the summer
The couple got married during the summer season
Ooh, ooh, ooh
Vocalization with no specific meaning
Contributed by Owen K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.