Imagine a little boy who grew up wanting to be David Bowie, listening to Prince and playing in his mother's make-up case. Well, that little boy grew up, decided that he was in fact straight and founded a performance-art-meets-disco band. His name is Kevin Barnes, and he is the leader and central member of the Athens, Ga.-based Of Montreal.
In Of Montreal's early days, the group was just another member of the Elephant 6 recording collective, a loosely connected group of like minded bands that included Neutral Milk Hotel and The Apples in Stereo. They made slightly above average vintage rock albums that sounded a bit like The Kinks.
But in recent years, the band has completely overhauled its look and sound. With each successive album, the group's sound and Barnes's writing style has evolved. On 2007's "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?" the band established its new sound, a train-wreck of glam-rock hooks and space disco beats.
Barnes, who writes all the band's lyrics and primarily records by himself, changed his band from a well-appreciated indie pop outfit to a funked up, schizophrenic explosion of dance grooves and painfully personal lyrics. On "Hissing Fauna," Barnes sang about depression, suicide and isolation, but he bared his soul over grooves that sounded like a collaboration between Prince and LCD Soundsystem.
On stage, Of Montreal appear to be not a band but some sort of guerilla art demonstration. Their stage show has included everything from Kabuki make-up and Barnes on stilts to sword-fighting ninjas and lots and lots of glitter.
On the band's new album, "Skeletal Lamping," Barnes and company descend from the mother ship once again to bless us mere mortals with their fanatical vision. "Lamping" is created in the same apocalyptic disco fashion, but this time around Barnes writes mostly about his bizarre sexual habits, which include role playing Opedious Rex, gender bending and tender cuddling.
His songs are just as dance worthy, but now they all flow with a similar cohesiveness like a sloppily crafted suite. His lyrics also cover everything from cooking crystal meth to his love of his 3-year-old daughter.
On several "Skeletal Lamping" tracks, Barnes uses a fictional black transgendered man named Georgie (a sort of Genesis P-Orridge caricature) as the protagonist and vessel for his prophetic vision. The gaps between tracks are filled with "Sister Ray" style white noise and psychedelic experimentation.
The album is being offered in a number of unique packages available through the band's blog. This includes offers of lanterns, wall decals, tote bags, posters and more when purchasing a digital download code.
Barnes' work continues to push the bounds of conventional pop music. His styles are so elusive and ever changing that it's hard to place an accurate label on them.
Of Montreal remains one of the most interesting and entertaining bands on the fringes of modern music. In a time when even indie music has become formulated and regulated to the point of absurdity, it's refreshing to see a bold band willing to take chances.
