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.
Its Just So
of Montreal Lyrics
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It's just so.
I adore you from your head down to your baby toe.
It's just so.
Sometimes I get scared and hesitate
Because it seems strange to be an intimate.
It makes me uncomfortable but I'll get used to it.
I don't want to hide it now I need to let it show.
When you hold me close I feel a warm and happy glow.
It's just so. Sometimes I'm unsure if you're the one
Or my best friend who I'm clinging to.
My feelings change so quickly so I'll trust you to lead me
The lyrics of the song "It's Just So" by of Montreal speak about love and the inevitability of it. The singer expresses their affection towards their partner by saying that they don't have to know why they love them, it's just a natural feeling. The singer adores their partner from their head down to their baby toe, meaning that they love every part of them unconditionally. The singer admits that they get scared and hesitant at times as being intimate is strange and uncomfortable for them, but they will get used to it. They don't want to hide their love and need to let it show. When their partner holds them close, they feel a warm and happy glow, which again emphasizes the point that love is a natural feeling.
The singer also admits that sometimes they are unsure if their partner is the one or just their best friend whom they are clinging to. This shows the complexity of relationships and how feelings can change quickly. In the end, the singer trusts their partner to lead them through their emotions and guide them towards a path of love.
Overall, the lyrics of "It's Just So" beautifully capture the essence of love and how it is something that cannot be explained or rationalized. It just is what it is, and the singer is ready to embrace it fully.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't wonder why I love you I don't have to know.
I do not need any specific reason to love you, it just comes naturally.
It's just so.
This feeling of love is just so overpowering and all-encompassing.
I adore you from your head down to your baby toe.
I love every single thing about you, from the top of your head to your little toes.
Sometimes I get scared and hesitate Because it seems strange to be an intimate.
Occasionally, I may feel anxious because becoming so close with another person can be daunting and unfamiliar.
It makes me uncomfortable but I'll get used to it.
While this intimate relationship may be uncomfortable or awkward at first, I believe I will eventually adapt to it with time and experience.
I don't want to hide it now I need to let it show.
I no longer want to keep my feelings for you a secret, I need to express them openly.
When you hold me close I feel a warm and happy glow.
Whenever we embrace, I feel a sense of comfort and joy that envelops me.
It's just so.
Once again, this feeling of love is so intense that words cannot describe it adequately.
Sometimes I'm unsure if you're the one Or my best friend who I'm clinging to.
At times, I may be unsure whether our relationship is more romantic or purely platonic.
My feelings change so quickly so I'll trust you to lead me
My emotions may shift frequently in this relationship, so I will rely on you to guide and reassure me.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: KEVIN BARNES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind