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.
Nicki Lighthouse
of Montreal Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everybody's the same
Everyone that is 'cept for my friend Nicki Lighthouse
She is from the jungle and has never rode a bike
Instead she rides on apes and llamas
Everywhere she goes
"There she goes again
The strangest girl that's ever been"
Everybody thinks the same things
Everybody's the same
Everyone that is 'cept for my friend Nicki Lighthouse
Where she's from forward is backward
And down is up
So she eats her dinner on the ceiling
And wallpapers the floor
And everywhre she goes the boring people say
"There she goes again
The strangest girl that's ever been"
I'm a big fan Nicki Lighthouse
You know that I am
You know that I am
The lyrics of "Nicki Lighthouse" by of Montreal depict a character named Nicki Lighthouse, who is unique and different from the rest of the people around her. The first verse talks about how everyone in the town is the same, except for Nicki. She is not only physically from a different place (the jungle), but she also does things differently, riding on apes and llamas instead of bikes. The chorus highlights how people find her strange and unusual, but the singer is a big fan of her nonetheless.
The second verse takes the idea of being different a step further. Nicki comes from a place where forward is backward and down is up, which is why she eats her dinner on the ceiling and wallpapers the floor. This verse further emphasizes her unique outlook on the world, and her willingness to be unconventional. The chorus repeats, revealing that despite her strange habits, the singer is still a big fan of Nicki Lighthouse.
Overall, "Nicki Lighthouse" celebrates individuality and uniqueness, painting a picture of a character who stands out in a world where everyone else seems to blend together. The lyrics are whimsical and fun, and the chorus is catchy and memorable.
Line by Line Meaning
Everybody does the same things
Most people are not unique in their actions or thoughts.
Everybody's the same
Everyone is similar to each other in some way.
Everyone that is 'cept for my friend Nicki Lighthouse
The exception to this rule is the singer's friend Nicki Lighthouse.
She is from the jungle and has never rode a bike
Nicki Lighthouse did not have a typical childhood experience of learning to ride a bike, as she is from the jungle.
Instead she rides on apes and llamas
Nicki Lighthouse has had unique experiences that diverge from common childhood experiences, such as riding on apes and llamas.
Everywhere she goes
Nicki Lighthouse's uniqueness is present in all situations she finds herself in.
And everywhre she goes the boring people say
Change-averse individuals often comment on her uniqueness.
"There she goes again
People are used to Nicki Lighthouse's uniqueness and do not approve of it.
The strangest girl that's ever been"
They consider her so strange that they believe no one else could ever compare to her level of uniqueness.
Where she's from forward is backward
Nicki Lighthouse's background has a different perspective from common norms.
And down is up
Nicki Lighthouse's experience has inverted normal conventions.
So she eats her dinner on the ceiling
She has habits that diverge from typical human behavior, such as eating dinner on the ceiling.
And wallpapers the floor
Her perspective is so distinct that what some consider to be a floor, she uses as a wall.
I'm a big fan Nicki Lighthouse
The singer admires Nicki Lighthouse's unique perspective and life experiences.
You know that I am
The singer is confident in their admiration for Nicki Lighthouse's uniqueness.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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