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.
Godly Intersex
of Montreal Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everything about you screamed of godly intersex
Nothing offered per dash, no human tracks
The new forms were germinating, I saw your Oreo wax
We danced for victory, ooh
We danced for Mile's misery, ooh
We danced for miscarriages
You, everybody's stoned about you (you)
Yeah everybody's thrown about you
Yeah everybody's thrown about you
Everybody's stoned about you (you)
Everybody's thrown about you
Everybody's stoned about you (you)
I was running from home from school
With the hope trying to keep my parents together
Heir to their chaos, there was such pressure to score high
So I had to drop it as if I stood a chance after my uncle's suicide
Everybody looking at me to succeed him as the family's golden myth
While all my identity mutations were being dozed by books
And all the drugs I took to prove I was brave but I was so afraid
Of the death without pleasure, you are my greatest treasure
Yeah I had like zero pleasure until you excused me from your archetype
You, everybody's stoned about you (you)
You, everybody's thrown about (you
Everybody's stoned about you (you)
Everybody's thrown about you (you)
Yeah, everybody's stoned about you (you)
Everybody's thrown about you (you)
The lyrics of "Godly Intersex" by of Montreal are very cryptic and open to interpretation. However, one possible interpretation is that the song is about a person who has an ambiguous or fluid gender identity, referred to as "godly intersex". The singer is attracted to this person and sees them as a symbol of new possibilities and alternative forms of existence. The lyrics also touch on issues of identity, pressure to conform to social norms, and the search for pleasure and meaning in life.
The first verse describes the singer's fascination with the godly intersex person, and the sense of danger and excitement that comes with breaking free from traditional gender roles. The second verse shifts to the singer's personal struggles with trying to meet the expectations of their family and society, as well as their own inner turmoil. The chorus repeats the phrases "everybody's stoned about you" and "everybody's thrown about you", which could be interpreted as a reference to the godly intersex person's ability to unsettle and disrupt people's preconceptions about gender and sexuality.
Line by Line Meaning
Too high, too fast, going to break our necks
We are moving too quickly towards something dangerous and risky.
Everything about you screamed of godly intersex
There was something divine and other-worldly about you, something that transcended traditional gender norms.
Nothing offered per dash, no human tracks
We were in uncharted territory, without any clear path forward or guidance from other humans.
The new forms were germinating, I saw your Oreo wax
Amidst all the uncertainty, something new and exciting was being born, and I witnessed it in your unique and beautiful appearance.
We danced for victory, ooh
We celebrated some sort of triumph or achievement together, with great joy and elation.
We danced for Mile's misery, ooh
We also celebrated someone else's pain or misfortune, which may be questionable or problematic behavior.
We danced for miscarriages
We found some sort of cathartic release through dancing, possibly related to pregnancy loss or other emotional pain.
We danced in Robert's room
We found refuge or escape in a particular location, possibly a person's private space.
You, everybody's stoned about you (you)
You are the focal point of everyone's attention and admiration, possibly due to your unique and captivating presence.
Yeah everybody's thrown about you
Everyone is deeply affected by you and is struggling to understand or cope with their feelings towards you.
I was running from home from school
I was trying to escape from the oppressive expectations and structure of my home and academic environments.
With the hope trying to keep my parents together
One of my motivations for running away was to salvage my parents' relationship, possibly due to underlying guilt or responsibility.
Heir to their chaos, there was such pressure to score high
I inherited the dysfunction and instability of my family, which resulted in immense pressure to perform well academically and otherwise.
So I had to drop it as if I stood a chance after my uncle's suicide
Despite the overwhelming obstacles and trauma in my life, I still felt compelled to strive for success and fulfillment, even if that was an unrealistic expectation.
Everybody looking at me to succeed him as the family's golden myth
I had the burden of trying to live up to a certain ideal or image for my family, even if that was unattainable or unhealthy.
While all my identity mutations were being dozed by books
I was grappling with numerous changes and developments in my sense of self and identity, but I found solace or distraction in reading and intellectual pursuits.
And all the drugs I took to prove I was brave but I was so afraid
I turned to substance use as a way of coping with my fears and insecurities, but ultimately it only exacerbated those feelings.
Of the death without pleasure, you are my greatest treasure
Despite my struggles and pain, you bring me a sense of joy and fulfillment that feels rare and precious to me.
Yeah I had like zero pleasure until you excused me from your archetype
You liberated me from rigid expectations or conventions of gender and identity, allowing me to experience pleasure and fulfillment in new and transformative ways.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: KEVIN BARNES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind