of Montreal

oh my gosh I am absolutely obsessed with this band right now. Dunno if you guys have heard of them, as they're an indie band, but not exactly what I would call obscure. Still, the only other person I've ever heard mention them on these forums is foreign contaminent, so, uh, I'm assuming that you guys don't know them, and if that's the case, then allow me to make a recommendation to you!

Basically, they're a quirky little indie pop group from Georgia (despite their name) with one of those androgynous frontmen guys. Some of the most well-known songs by them are Wraith Pined to the Mist and Other Games (which you might know from an Outback Steakhouse commercial a while back) Gronlandic Edit, Id Engager, and Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse which has the best music video ever. My personal favorite songs by them are "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal" (epic twelve-minute piece), "Faberge Falls for Shuggie", and "Gallery Piece". If you are wondering "do all their songs have names like that?" then the answer is "yes". On their newest album, literally 0/15 songs have their title in the song lyrics. Of course, some of the song names make sense after one considers the meaning of the lyrics (e.g. "Gallery Piece", "Id Engager", "Death Is Not a Parallel Move") but others, however, do not (e.g. "Nonpareil of Favor", "Triphallus, to Punctuate!", "Mingusings").

Anyway, they have a shitload of albums but they're like Porcupine Tree or the Flaming Lips in the respect that despite their long career, the band only just managed to make it big. So, therefore, most people only have their recent stuff. Myself, I only have their latest two albums, but they are both 10/10 two thumbs up good.

If you think "hey this band is pretty cool, let me go get one of their albums" then you should probably get Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?. It is a brilliant album! It manages to be good, despite being a concept album about the aforementioned androgynous frontman transforming into his alter ego: an African-American transsexual named Georgie Fruit (no, really). The other album I own, Skeletal Lamping, is also amazing but somewhat chaotic and experimental, and as such I recommend you get Hissing Fauna first.

My recommendation will probably fall on deaf ears, seeing as Retsu and Watershed's suggestions also go largely unnoticed, despite them being generally regarded as having very good taste in music. But... you know, whatever. Seriously, though, check these guys out. I have yet to hear a bad song by them. :)

(if it turns out that I way under-estimated this band's popularity and everyone here already knows them, then, uh, I'm sorry.)

i love this band. i have hissing fauna, are you the destroyer, satanic panic in the attic, and the sunlandic twins. (i've also heard some songs off of other albums, like skeletal lamping or the bedside drama, etc.) hissing fauna is much better than the other two, i think, but each one has fantastic songs. when i think of these albums, i think of i was never young and lysergic bliss (but if the second video is bothersome or something, you could also watch an acoustic version of the song).

i love this band and a lot of their songs. when they write songs, i feel a lot like kevin does, happy or sad.

I've only ever really listened to Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games (well actually I've listened to another song but I can't remember the title), but my friend is really obsessed with them. ^^

foreign contaminent: Skeletal Lamping kicks ridiculous amounts of ass, despite what Pitchfork will tell you. Personally, I like it better than Hissing Fauna, but while Hissing Fauna is immediately likable, Skeletal Lamping is definitely a grower. You'll spend a while hating it, and then one day everything will come together and you'll realize just how great of a record it is. Seriously, get that album right now. :O

Zeta Reticuli said:

foreign contaminent: Skeletal Lamping kicks ridiculous amounts of ass, despite what Pitchfork will tell you. Personally, I like it better than Hissing Fauna, but while Hissing Fauna is immediately likable, Skeletal Lamping is definitely a grower. You'll spend a while hating it, and then one day everything will come together and you'll realize just how great of a record it is. Seriously, get that album right now. :O

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i was planning on getting it, yeah. i like all the songs i've heard off of it. usually, though, i try to get into the band with the earliest album of theirs that i can find and i as such opted out of getting it. i see it everywhere i go, though.. i actually found it at target for ten bucks once. had i actually owned any of their prior stuff i would've gotten it.

oh yeah, i don't really read pitchfork for new music. for that, i usually go to the av club - who gave this album a b, actually - or i ask /mu/.

Pitchfork sucks.

I am not familiar with this band, can anyone give an accurate summary of their sound? Indie pop, but in connection with what bands? I need a reference point.

Watershed said:

Pitchfork sucks.

I am not familiar with this band, can anyone give an accurate summary of their sound? Indie pop, but in connection with what bands? I need a reference point.

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if you listen to any albums that come before aldhils arboretum - the bedside drama, the gay parade, coquelicot in the poppies, etc - then it's something like a beatles soundalike with clever lyrics, typically telling stories about certain characters. if you listen to anything post-aldhils - satanic panic in the attic, the sunlandic twins, hissing fauna, and skeletal lamping - then it's minimalist techno pop-ish stuff with just as clever lyrics. the new of montreal doesn't really sound a lot like other indie rock bands; they might actually align closer to modern pop music. kevin barnes himself claimed he was inspired by funk music in recent times. he also mentioned that he liked david bowie and david byrne.

of montreal also gets lumped in with the "elephant six," a bunch of bands from georgia interested in '60s music and camaraderie and stuff if that helps. other e6 groups include neutral milk hotel, beulah, the apples in stereo, and the olivia tremor control, and elf power, which kevin was a part of at some point.

I have heard Neutral Milk Hotel and one or two Elf power songs. I like NMH, Elf Power bored me; I also am not a huge Beatles fan (Bowie is alright though). I guess this is one of those indie bands that indie fans find good but I never get around to really liking because my preferences in music lie somewhere else. I am also aware of the elephant 6 thing; thanks for mentioning it though.

For some reason, I like my stuff more guitar driven, dramatic and theatrical.

Watershed said:

I am also aware of the elephant 6 thing; thanks for mentioning it though.

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np. i just mentioned it because of montreal's status as an e6 group fluctuates. :x but actually, of montreal is one of those strange bands that have a love-hate relationship with hipsters. if i recall, hissing fauna is one of the only of montreal albums that got a lot of praise. someone once said that of montreal is successful "despite the indie music press, not because of it." i think he's right, though my reviews of this kind of music wouldn't vary depending on my mood.

of montreal's only dramatic song is probably the past is a grotesque animal, but it's probably not the same kind of dramatic you're talking about.

no, my dramatic music lies more on the use of melodic chord progressions, orchestrations, synthesizers, you know, the whole metal kind of dramatism. also the large scope of atmospheric music that post-rock produces; I like my music to sound "larger than life", so to speak. Harmonising, layering, production things. That sort of thing.

Though I do recognise the value of indie music and its typical scene and even delve into some of the bands on occasion, I mostly stay away from it because in the end I find these kinds of bands are comparatively dull and not energetic or melodic enough for me. I don't associate with "hipster" trends that much. However, I will admit I do like good indie music as well: I love NMH and The Dismemberment Plan and Bon Iver. It's just that those are mood bands for me, whereas when I just want something regular, I'll put in some metal. I hope you understand where I'm coming from because I actually like the occasional indie band, I am not some shitty metalhead elitist that dismisses things because it isn't troo kvlt enough.

Also I guess post-rock is my favourite indie scene. I love Sigur Ros, Mogwai, GiaA, Explosions in the Sky etc etc.

So I guess I will get round to listening to this band occasionally. I can't be of much more help than that :P

oh no, that's quite alright. i don't actually like pure "indie rock" that much, either; thanks to publications like pitchfork, it's become more about trends and less about good music. kevin barnes himself even wrote a blog accusing indie rock of being "too nice, too gentle," and wrote another essay defending his decision to let companies like outback use their songs for advertising. "selling out," things like that.

i'm pretty much the same way, only i listen to post-punk/'80s alternative rock/experimental music instead. pitchfork "endorses" the bands i have in mind - sonic youth, my bloody valentine, joy division, gang of four, etc. - but it's not as if they're the only ones that like them. all of them got endorsements from heaps of critics and have actually found success to some degree.

sonic youth I have heard, they are pretty ok. i am not too familiar with mbv and joy division but I would really love to check them out to see how good they are because they are obviously classics. i also don't care about selling out much if it is actually genuine music.

i think genuinity is the criterion for me liking music. i mean i enjoy katy perry but not because she is genuine, more because I can see the insane irony in what she is doing. i don't actually think she is a good artist, just good for comedic value and catchy songs. but the music I really like, is genuine honest music played for making a love of music. and a lot of indie/metal/underground bands do that. some of them also gain popularity because they are doing it so right they get noticed. maybe they have the right label backing. iono. you get what I mean.