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.
Jacques Lamure
of Montreal Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Volunteer fireman
He longs to give his life
Saving a nice old man and his wife
When their house is
Filled with flames
Earning him honor and fame
At a clock factory
He wishes he were boss
So he could fire that scoundrel William Moss
Who always puts him down
When Megan Blanchard is around
He told himself last year
That when springtime was here
He would suddenly appear at Meg's door
He'd rent a mariachi band and respectfully demand
His dear Meg to take his hand
And to be his forever more
But of course he didn't dare
And pretended not to care
About the insult or the loss
When he found out she'd married William Moss
Jacques Lamure goes to see a show
Every other Friday night
He likes the westerns best
He'd rather be a sheriff with a gold star on his chest
Than that weird guy who never says a word
And when spoken to pretends he hadn't heard
He realized one day that he didn't have to stay
That he could move as far away as planes could fly
He chuckled as he mused
About the people who had rused him
And how shocked and confused that they would be
When he says goodbye and never turns around
Never returns to that miserable town
Then as weeks passed he soon did find
This move had greatly improved his state of mind
The song "Jacques Lamure" by of Montreal tells the story of a man who leads a monotonous life and dreams of a heroic death that could bring him glory and a sense of purpose. Jacques Lamure is depicted as a volunteer fireman who hopes to rescue an old couple from a burning building someday. He also works as a foreman in a clock factory where he feels inferior and wishes he could fire his colleague William Moss, who belittles him in front of Megan Blanchard, the woman he secretly loves.
The lyrics delve into Jacques' unfulfilled dreams and inner turmoil. He plans to declare his love for Megan by renting a mariachi band and asking her to be his forever more, but he never acts on it and misses his chance when she marries William Moss. Jacques is portrayed as a lonely man who finds solace in watching westerns at a local show, where he imagines himself as the sheriff, admired and respected by the townspeople.
The song's narrative is about the desire for a life of purpose and significance, and the price one pays for settling for an unfulfilling existence. Jacques Lamure's story is a reminder that we all have dreams and aspirations that we should strive to achieve and that settling for less will only lead to regrets.
Line by Line Meaning
Jacques Lamure is a
This song is about a man named Jacques Lamure
Volunteer fireman
Jacques volunteers as a fireman
He longs to give his life
Jacques wishes to sacrifice his life to save others
Saving a nice old man and his wife
Jacques wants to save an elderly couple
When their house is
If the house of the elderly couple is
Filled with flames
On fire
Earning him honor and fame
Jacques believes that rescuing others from a burning building would make him a hero
Jacques Lamure is a foreman
Jacques works as a foreman at a clock factory
At a clock factory
His workplace produces clocks
He wishes he were boss
Jacques wishes he held a higher position in the factory
So he could fire that scoundrel William Moss
Jacques wants to fire a troublesome employee named William Moss
Who always puts him down
William Moss regularly belittles Jacques
When Megan Blanchard is around
William Moss insults Jacques in front of Megan Blanchard
He told himself last year
Last year, Jacques made a promise to himself
That when springtime was here
Jacques planned to keep this promise in the spring
He would suddenly appear at Meg's door
Jacques dreamed of surprising Meg at her house
He'd rent a mariachi band and respectfully demand
Jacques planned to hire a mariachi band and make a respectful request to Meg
His dear Meg to take his hand
Jacques wants Meg to accept his hand in marriage
And to be his forever more
Jacques wants Meg to be his life partner
But of course he didn't dare
Jacques did not have the courage to go through with his plan
And pretended not to care
Jacques acted as if he didn't care about Meg marrying someone else
About the insult or the loss
Jacques disregards the pain of losing Meg to William Moss
When he found out she'd married William Moss
Jacques discovered that Meg had married William Moss
Jacques Lamure goes to see a show
Jacques enjoys watching shows
Every other Friday night
Jacques attends a show every alternate Friday
He likes the westerns best
Jacques' favourite type of show is western
He'd rather be a sheriff with a gold star on his chest
Jacques dreams of being a sheriff with a gold star emblem on his uniform
Than that weird guy who never says a word
Jacques believes being a sheriff would be better than being a mute man in the show
And when spoken to pretends he hadn't heard
The mute man in the show always pretends to not hear when spoken to
He realized one day that he didn't have to stay
Jacques came to the realisation that he could leave his town if he wanted to
That he could move as far away as planes could fly
He could move to any place on the globe
He chuckled as he mused
Jacques laughed as he thought about the possibilities of leaving his town
About the people who had rused him
Jacques thinks about people who previously deceived him
And how shocked and confused that they would be
Jacques imagines the state of perception of such people when he leaves town
When he says goodbye and never turns around
Jacques wants to leave his town without a second thought
Never returns to that miserable town
Jacques decides to never return to his current town
Then as weeks passed he soon did find
Jacques discovers years later
This move had greatly improved his state of mind
Leaving his town had a positive impact on his mental health
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: KEVIN BARNES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind