Kevin Barnes, under his nom de plume Of Montreal, spent ten years recording saccharine sweet vignettes detailing a variety of characters culled from a fictional world of psychedelic twee. Yet it’s his latest album, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?(Polyvinyl), a shockingly confessional portrait of emotional pain, that’s finally achieved widespread success. After extensive international touring with a five piece live band, Barnes retreated to his Norway home and was not taking calls at press time.
Of Montreal sprang from an Athens, Georgia scene that produced such critical darlings as Neutral Milk Hotel and Olivia Tremor Control. But Barnes never completely found acceptance locally, despite shared aesthetics. “Kevin always had a chip on his shoulder,” says guitarist Bryan Poole, who’s been playing live with the band off and on since its inception. “Athens was never really into Of Montreal. We were always too happy: too much candy, too many chord changes.”
The 2004 release of Satanic Panic in the Attic(Polyvinyl) brought the band to a new label with a retooled sound—cloaking jangly guitar pop in glammy Prozac synths—moving the band beyond cult status and into sold out venues and major music festivals.
But it’s bittersweet success for Barnes, whose separation from his wife led to intense bouts of depression.
“The Hissing Fauna songs come from a two year period when Kevin was about to be a father and his wife had to stay at home [while he toured.] He was caught in a catch 22; any decision he made that was good for his band was bad for his family.”
Some of those decisions, most notably to license “Wraith Pinned to the Mist” to Outback Steakhouse, proved baffling to longtime fans.
“Kevin was basically an idiot,” says Poole. “He got pressured; he’s got a baby girl. He tried to get out of it, but it was too late. It’s total crap. Outback is not cool. He hates it.”
All the emotional pressure hasn’t made performing easy.
“There’s songs on the last album [Kevin] can’t play live. They put him in a weird frame of mind. They’re heavy songs. I’m lucky I don’t destroy my guitar. I’m not smiling for the next 5 songs after some of them.”
But the band’s theatrical live shows are connecting with audiences.
“A lot of our fans are dressing up like Kevin,” says Poole. “To have people participating, stepping outside of themselves, that’s great.”
