Of Montreal, the critically acclaimed psych-pop band out of Athens, Georgia, returns to the Washington D.C. area for spring break. Fronted by Kevin Barnes, the group released their well-received eighth album, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, on Feb. 23. Guitarist Bryan Poole detailed the band’s updated sound on the new record.
“I mean, I think it’s still Of Montreal,” he said. “Kevin has a kind of a unique voice, for one, and a unique way of writing songs like nobody else, really.”
Poole said that Barnes’ voice combines with a whole mélange of influences in the new album, including Dirty Mind-era Prince.
Poole has been an on-again, off-again member of the band, and when asked about his involvement with the record, he joked, “My involvement? I told Kevin it was brilliant, and then he was like, ‘yup’, and then he put it out. No, [laughs]. He kind of actually recorded the album by himselfshy;—not to say we don’t still feel like a band…”
‘The two met in 1996 after being introduced by a mutual friend. Poole was a member of the Elephant 6 band Elf Power at the time, but he immediately embraced the opportunity to play with Barnes, whose songs they began to include in their playlist at local shows.
Soon their collaboration became Of Montreal, and their first record, Cherry Peel, was released in 1997. Afterward, though, Poole left the band to concentrate fully on Elf Power, which was, he adds, “a really hard decision to make.”
Poole, however, couldn’t keep himself away for long, and by 2001 he had quit Elf Power and was invited back into the band. He said he never lost touch with Barnes, and when he moved back to Athens with his wife, he hung out with his bandmates nearly every day.
He has been recording and touring with Of Montreal ever since.
“We try to make our live show as big a production as we can,” he said, adding, “I don’t think anyone dresses like we do,” referring to the bountiful makeup and flamboyant costumes worn by the band’s members during shows.
Even with near-constant touring, the band has been ridiculously prolific—with eight album releases in the past 10 years.
“By the time we do touring to support an album, Kevin’s already got songs ready to go for the next album,” he said. “That’s what Kevin likes to do—sitting at home, recording. He’s like a workaholic, but a craftsman, too.”
Of Montreal takes the stage on March 6 at State Theatre in Fall’s Church, Va.
