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.
Famine Affair
of Montreal Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't love you anymore
Go away, go away, go away, go away
You're a bad thing
Terrible thing
You destroy my head
You uncalibrate my skull
You're a bad thing
Useless thing
You marginalize me
You sabotage me
Go away, go away, go away, go away
You're a bad thing
You horrible thing
You steal my light
You suffocate my life
Go away, go away
You're a bad thing
Miserable thing
Like some childish demon
Who takes pleasure from its sting
You're a bad thing
Bad thing, bad thing
After you'll see that I'll crawl back
You must be sick
Thought she was my Annie Hall
Or at least Ali MacGraw
Now I feel so wilted
It's a famine affair
The whole attempt with shawty
Just put trash in my body
He was nostalgic for the ground
Hope down the drain
Still flew to your tragedy
In a glass-bottom airplane
Looping like a retard
Are you still playing the race card?
She said "You're not boring
I'm just bored with you"
The psychology behind it is ruthless
Wish it weren't true
Wish we weren't so complicated
Wish you weren't so medicated
I don't want you anymore
I don't love you anymore
Go away, go away, go away, go away
You're a bad thing
Terrible thing
You don't let me sleep
And when you do it's just teeth-falling-out nightmares
Go away
You're a bad thing
Useless thing
You marginalize me
You sabotage me
Go away, go away, go away, go away
You're a bad thing
You horrible thing
You've been trying to make me ugly so you'd have a reason to leave
So you could say you were just, like, abandoning the ruins
You bad thing
You miserable thing
Like a childish demon
Who keeps insects on a string
You are a bad thing
Bad thing, bad thing
After you'll see that I'll crawl back
You must be sick
The lyrics of the song Famine Affair by of Montreal are about a toxic and abusive relationship that the singer has finally realized he needs to end. The lyrics are an angry, bitter rejection of the other person, who is portrayed as a "bad thing" that destroys his life and happiness. The use of repetitive phrases and a pounding beat help to convey the frustration and desperation of the situation.
The lyrics are full of vivid and often disturbing images of the damage that the other person has caused to the singer's mental and physical well-being. The references to nightmares, marginalization, sabotage, and suffocation all contribute to the sense of suffocating despair that pervades the song.
Some of the lines in the song also suggest that the other person has been deliberately trying to damage and control the singer, such as "You've been trying to make me ugly so you'd have a reason to leave" and "Looping like a retard / Are you still playing the race card?" The song ends with the singer asserting his independence and his refusal to be drawn back into the toxic relationship, making it clear that he has finally seen the other person for what they are and is determined to move on.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't want you anymore
I don't have any feelings for you now
I don't love you anymore
I don't love you anymore
Go away, go away, go away, go away
Please disappear
You're a bad thing
You are unpleasant
Terrible thing
You are awful
You destroy my head
You mess with my mind
You uncalibrate my skull
You throw off my balance
You marginalize me
You put me on the edge
You sabotage me
You undermine me
You're a bad thing
You are unpleasant
Useless thing
You are not useful
You steal my light
You take my happiness
You suffocate my life
You choke my life
You're a bad thing
You are unpleasant
Miserable thing
You are pathetic
Like some childish demon
You are like a naughty child
Who takes pleasure from its sting
Who enjoys hurting others
You're a bad thing
You are unpleasant
Bad thing, bad thing
You are very bad
After you'll see that I'll crawl back
I might come back to you later
You must be sick
You are probably mentally unwell
Thought she was my Annie Hall
I thought she was my dream girl
Or at least Ali MacGraw
Or maybe just a beautiful girl
Now I feel so wilted
Now I feel drained and hopeless
It's a famine affair
It's a dysfunctional relationship
The whole attempt with shawty
The whole thing with the girl
Just put trash in my body
Just made me feel bad
He was nostalgic for the ground
He missed the simplicity
Hope down the drain
Hope is disappearing
Still flew to your tragedy
Still went to your sad situation
In a glass-bottom airplane
In a situation with no escape
Looping like a retard
Repeating like a fool
Are you still playing the race card?
Are you still blaming others for your problems?
She said "You're not boring
She said that I am not boring
I'm just bored with you"
But she is bored with me
The psychology behind it is ruthless
The reason behind it is heartless
Wish it weren't true
But I wish it was not true
Wish we weren't so complicated
I wish that we were simpler
Wish you weren't so medicated
I wish you didn't rely on drugs
You don't let me sleep
You disrupt my sleep
And when you do it's just teeth-falling-out nightmares
When I sleep I only have bad dreams
You've been trying to make me ugly so you'd have a reason to leave
You want to make me unattractive so you can leave me
So you could say you were just, like, abandoning the ruins
So you can say you left because I was a mess
You bad thing
You are unpleasant
You miserable thing
You are pathetic
Like a childish demon
You are like a naughty child
Who keeps insects on a string
Who enjoys controlling and harming others
Bad thing, bad thing
You are very bad
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: KEVIN BARNES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
J Truts
these lyrics are wonderful! "wish we weren't so complicated, wish you weren't so medicated", "you don't let me sleep and when you do it's just teeth falling out nightmares, go away" - I wish I had the talent on their pinky fingernail for songwriting...
TheAirEnElManana
god their bass lines are always amazingly addicting...
Scott Snowden
this is actually my favorite song on the album. powerful.
grantt white
it's amazing how all of their albums talk about certain points in my own personal life, this one is no different and this video pretty much sums up every thing at the moment.
R Harris
My love for oM grows deeper. Now everytime I drive down Alps Rd. I'll be singing this song, just as I jam out to Mingusings everytime I'm on Hawthorne Rd. Love you guys!
Absydion
Very nice work Nina and Jason. I love it!
Carnelian King
This video is perfect. What a great embodiment of the song!
vulcanparrot
I can't stop listening to this!!
Marcos Mota
muito lindoooooo!!!
onomiyaki
My favorite song from the new album.