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.
Malefic Dowery
of Montreal Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You don't have to serve a sentence
To pay back what you've been given
Now I live in fear of your schizophrenic genius
It's a tempestuous despot
That I can't seem to propitiate
But your loyalty and affections
Are somehow a vulpine act of hostility
Now we're a bore, we're afternoon TV
This thing our minds are screaming to defy
How can I bury this rebellion
While proving that I'm still your rock 'n' roll ally?
Once more I turn to my crotch for counsel
And it won't disappoint me
I know it's the shadow cast by what's looming in the ?
I was dreaming of the hunt
You clapped your hands sharply twice to wake me up
Oh, darkness was gripping the sky
I knew I could still be your rock 'n' roll ally
The song "Malefic Dowery" by of Montreal is a reflection of the complexities and contradictions that arise in a romantic relationship. The singer starts by stating that love is not a debtor's prison, indicating that love should not feel like a burden or obligation. The line "you don't have to serve a sentence to pay back what you've been given" suggests that love should be given freely and without expectation of anything in return. However, as the song progresses, the singer's tone becomes increasingly anxious and conflicted. He describes his partner's "schizophrenic genius" as a "tempestuous despot" that he cannot seem to placate. He also feels like her loyalty and affections are a "vulpine act of hostility." The singer is torn between his desire to rebel against their predictable relationship and to continue to be a supportive partner.
The singer is struggling to balance his own desire for independence with his need for a stable and loving relationship. He fears that they have become a "bore" and that their relationship is now like "afternoon TV." He wants to rebel against the monotony, but at the same time, he wants to prove that he is still her "rock 'n' roll ally." Towards the end of the song, the singer turns to his own desires and impulses for guidance. He knows that his crotch won't disappoint him but acknowledges that it is a "shadow cast by what's looming in the" unknown.
Overall, "Malefic Dowery" is a poignant and honest portrayal of the struggles that arise in a romantic relationship. The song highlights the internal conflicts and contradictions that love can evoke and the difficulties of finding a balance between independence and togetherness.
Line by Line Meaning
Love is not a debtor's prison
Love is not a punishment for past wrongdoings or mistakes. It is not a place where one is trapped and forced to suffer.
You don't have to serve a sentence
Love is not a punishment that is imposed upon a person. There is no obligation to suffer in order to prove one's worthiness of love.
To pay back what you've been given
Love is not a transactional arrangement. It is not something that must be repaid or compensated for.
Now I live in fear of your schizophrenic genius
I am afraid of the unpredictability and instability of your brilliance. It is a powerful and volatile force that I struggle to understand or control.
It's a tempestuous despot
Your genius is like a tyrannical ruler that brings chaos and turmoil. It is overwhelming and oppressive.
That I can't seem to propitiate
I cannot seem to appease or satisfy your genius. It demands too much and is never satisfied.
Now I feel you're provoking me with your fidelity
I sense that you are intentionally trying to upset or frustrate me with your faithfulness and commitment.
But your loyalty and affections
Your commitment and devotion
Are somehow a vulpine act of hostility
Somehow, your loyalty and affection feel like a sly or cunning form of attack or aggression.
Now we're a bore, we're afternoon TV
Our relationship has become dull and unexciting. We are like a mediocre and uninteresting television show in the middle of the day.
This thing our minds are screaming to defy
Our hearts and minds are desperate to reject or rebel against the current state of our relationship.
How can I bury this rebellion
How can I suppress or hide this urge to resist or rebel against our relationship?
While proving that I'm still your rock 'n' roll ally?
At the same time, how can I show that I am still a loyal and supportive partner, even as I struggle to maintain my sense of self and independence within our relationship?
Once more I turn to my crotch for counsel
Once again, I seek guidance and comfort from my own desires and instincts.
And it won't disappoint me
And I know that my own desires and instincts will always be there for me when I need them.
I know it's the shadow cast by what's looming in the ?
I know that my own desires and instincts are a reflection of my fears and anxieties about what is coming next in our relationship - what 'looms' in the future.
I was dreaming of the hunt
I was dreaming of the pursuit and conquest of something or someone, which represents the excitement and adventure that I feel is missing from our relationship.
You clapped your hands sharply twice to wake me up
You abruptly interrupted my daydreaming and brought me back to reality, which reminds me of the limitations and challenges that exist in our relationship.
Oh, darkness was gripping the sky
The world around us is full of uncertainty and darkness, which adds to my feelings of anxiety and despair about our relationship.
I knew I could still be your rock 'n' roll ally
Despite everything, I am still willing to be your loyal and supportive partner, even if that means sacrificing some of my own desires and needs in the process.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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