Ben Rouse
Founder Kevin Barnes (center) was influenced by gender-benders Prince and Bowie.
The weird, sexy glitter circus known as of Montreal is rolling into Madison, a place where the band feels right at home.
“I like Madison. It’s a progressive town with a big college,” similar to the band’s native Athens, Georgia, says Kevin Barnes, of Montreal’s androgynous founder and driving force. “The Halloween show we had in Madison [in 2013] was epic.”
That’s quite a compliment coming from the the offbeat, artsy, psychedelic glam-pop act, famous for frenetic, rainbow-colored performances. The band plays the Majestic Theater on Sept. 20.
This year marks of Montreal’s 20th anniversary. The band’s had at least that many rotating members in those two decades, with Barnes being the sole constant. The band’s 13th record, Innocence Reaches, released in June, is an upbeat, rhythmic infusion of electronic dance music.
Barnes says photography inspired him during the making of Innocence Reaches. In particular, the work of Steven Arnold, a protégé of groundbreaking surrealist Salvador Dali, inspired Barnes’ vision for videos and performances.
Oddly festooned dancers, kaleidoscopic projections and costume changes are routine during an of Montreal performance. “It’s like a celebration for a few hours every day,” Barnes says.
Barnes has recently been delving into the music of two of his most obvious influences, Prince and David Bowie, both of whom died this year. Particularly, he’s exploring Prince’s LoveSexy and David Bowie’s 1976 Station to Station, which was a vehicle for the “Thin White Duke” persona.
Like that of its muses, of Montreal’s music is as informed by sexuality as it is by art. Though it’s not new territory for him, Barnes is outspoken about disrupting gender norms, calling gender identity politics a “hot topic.” “There are fascists around the country making laws and trying to claw their way into people’s lives,” he says.
These themes reverberate in the opening track of Innocence Reaches, “Let’s Relate.” The song begins with a steady dance beat and Barnes singing the question: “How do you identify?”
Barnes’ 11-year-old daughter inspired the second track, “it’s different for girls.” The song outlines the pressures of patriarchy on women in a man’s world. Its raucous drag show-style dance party video features a coyly smiling Barnes in a blond wig and his trademark light blue sparkly eyeshadow. Meanwhile, a non-gender-conforming child steals the spotlight. The video also features a cameo by former Madisonian Shane O’Neill, frontman of the now defunct Screamin’ Cyn Cyn & the Pons, in a raspberry beret and heavy eyeliner.
Barnes and of Montreal got their indie beginnings as part of the Elephant Six Collective, which also birthed Neutral Milk Hotel and The Apples in Stereo. of Montreal later layered in flavors of pop, funk, soul and prog.
With clever, introspective lyrics and vivid wordplay to boot, of Montreal creates a party both the brain and body can enjoy.
“I really don’t write for an audience, I write songs I want to hear,” Barnes says. “Catchy, hooky songs.”
