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.
My What a Strange Day With a Swede
of Montreal Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With a Swedish man
I bet that wasn't in your plans for the day
My, what a strange day for poor little Nietzsche
Why so forlorn?
You know we love you, Nietzsche
And all of your friends have come to see you, Nietzsche
Everyone's waiting, Nietzsche
Don't be so sneaky
When he smeared a candy bar across your face
With a gloveless hand
I thought you'd never stop lashing the Swede
My, what a strange day for poor little Nietzsche
What more could be done on a day like today
Then to lock up your heart and quickly swallow the key?
Now I'm going to tell you something we can do
If you cut off my head, I'll cut yours off for you
I'll cut it off for you
Poor little Nietzsche
Don't be so sneaky
What more could be done on a day like today
Then to lock up your heart and quickly swallow the key?
I like the image of us tossing our heads at a Swedish man
I bet he'd never telephone us again
Not even to say
My, what a strange day for poor little Nietzsche
The first stanza of this song is describing a strange or unexpected encounter with a Swedish man on a trolley ride. The singer is addressing someone they call Nietzsche, who may be feeling down or forlorn. The use of the Swedish man as a strange and potentially unsettling element in the narrative creates an almost surrealist atmosphere, centering on the singer's attempt to cheer up Nietzsche. The candy bar smearing incident shows the singer's perception of the Swedish man as a somewhat hostile figure. The repeated line "My, what a strange day for poor little Nietzsche" highlights the oddness of the situation and plays on the idea of Nietzsche being pitied or protected.
The second and third stanzas of the song continue to address Nietzsche, with the singer imploring him to open up or come out of hiding. The phrase "lock up your heart and quickly swallow the key" is notable for its melancholy tone, contrasting with the surreal and sometimes absurd imagery of the rest of the song. The final stanza offers a somewhat gruesome solution to their current problems, with the singer suggesting that they could cut off each other's heads. While this may seem like an extreme or violent solution, it is presented as a way to escape from the current situation and start anew.
Line by Line Meaning
When I rode in a trolley across your face
When I made fun of you in public
With a Swedish man
With a person who you don't know
I bet that wasn't in your plans for the day
I'm sure you didn't expect that
My, what a strange day for poor little Nietzsche
Today must be really weird for you
Why so forlorn?
Why are you sad?
You know we love you, Nietzsche
You are loved by us
And all of your friends have come to see you, Nietzsche
Your friends are here to support you
So let us see you, Nietzsche
Let us see how you're doing
Everyone's waiting, Nietzsche
People are expecting you
Don't be so sneaky
Don't be evasive
When he smeared a candy bar across your face
When he made fun of you with a sweet
With a gloveless hand
Without using protective gear
I thought you'd never stop lashing the Swede
I thought you would keep attacking him
What more could be done on a day like today
What else can we do today?
Then to lock up your heart and quickly swallow the key?
Then to avoid showing your true feelings?
Now I'm going to tell you something we can do
I have an idea of something we can do
If you cut off my head, I'll cut yours off for you
If we both take a risk, we'll both be rewarded
I'll cut it off for you
I'll do it for you
Poor little Nietzsche
You are pitiable
I like the image of us tossing our heads at a Swedish man
I find the idea of us confronting him amusing
I bet he'd never telephone us again
I'm sure he wouldn't contact us anymore
Not even to say
Not even to express his opinion
My, what a strange day for poor little Nietzsche
It must have been a bizarre and difficult day for you
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: KEVIN BARNES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind