Crib Notes

An Eluardian Instance EP

Last Thursday Of Montreal vocalist/mastermind Kevin Barnes spoke with Rolling Stone’s Rock and Roll Daily blog about what will come after Skeletal Lamping. Barnes told RS that he has something a little noisier in mind:

“It’s sort of abstract in my mind, but right now what I’ll create will be mesmeric and kind of physical music. Try to create music that you have a physical reaction to. Try to touch you on a level that’s not strictly intellectual but more physical, and that’s not to say you’ll dance to it.”

In the meantime a comprehensive Of Montreal DVD is in the works. The group filmed a show in Los Angeles during last year’s Hissing Fauna tour as well as a show at the Tabernacle in Atlanta last month. The plan is to release a DVD that compiles the group’s videos, the two live performances and some documentary material as well.

This week Of Montreal plays the Late Show with David Letterman on Thurs., Dec. 18th. After that the An Eluardian Instance EP featuring remixes from Grammy-nominated producer Jon Brion (Spoon, Kanye West, Elliott Smith, Fiona Apple) is due digitally Jan. 6th/Jan. 27th on CD and LP via Polyvinyl Records.

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Skeletal Lamping, the latest full-length from Athens’ whimsical art-pop ensemble, and CL’s Nov. 5th cover artists, Of Montreal is holding strong as the #1 record on CMJ’s Top 200 list for its forth week in a row.

Click below to see the group’s current round of U.S. and European tour dates, which include two performances at the 40 Watt in Athens on Dec. 30th and 31st.

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If you’re one of those people who likes to plan in advance, than you will be happy to know that Of Montreal is playing a New Year’s Eve show at the Fabulous 40 Watt in downtown Athens.

So if you just saw their fantastic show at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, and want to see them again, and hopefully not have to endure the hell ride into ironic false hair metal that was Limozeen, this is your ticket.

Some thoughts on the Atlanta show that happened over the weekend…

Of Montreal played to a comfortably crowded house on Saturday night at the Tabernacle. It seems like it was only yesterday that they played the old Eyedrum downtown to all of about eight people. Alas, that was eight years ago, and since then their following has grown exponentially. Icy Demons played a cool, rhythm-heavy set, but my memory of their show is tainted by the travesty that was/is Limozeen. I don’t know where these guys came from, but I hope that I never have to endure their shite metal shtick ever again.

I lived through indie rock in the ‘90s and the one thing that never ever sat well with me was the bloated sense of irony that was such a huge part of the culture. The slacker chic thing really did a number on the collective consciousness of the times that still creeps out from time-to-time in the here and now. Remember when Urge Overkill dressed-up and did that Neil Diamond crap? Pavement’s image? Weezer’s career? Unfortunately I do too. These days it shows up in horribly mutated outgrowths, like those FreeCreditReport.com commercials where the dipshit slacker guys sing about how badly they screwed up their credit and now they have to work at a seafood restaurant.

At one time indie rock was dominated by this kind of tongue-in-cheek stupidity, and bad memories of those times are made all the more horrible when a band like Limozeen is given a stage in front of a huge audience. It’s a terrible idea and in their minds it justifies what they are doing.

In essence it was a bad joke… A fake metal band… Something that could have been funny if it lasted for a maximum of 1-to-3 songs tops. But no… These guys went on and on and on, thrashing their fake wigs, posing in ridiculous outfits, wailing, riffing and taking the joke way too far.

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Last month Athens’ long-standing psychedelic pop eccentrics Of Montreal began dropping hints about their forth coming album Skeletal Lamping. Now the album’s cover art, track list, some tour dates and a new member have all been announced. The album is due to arrive on October 7 via Polyvinyl Records.

Ahmed Gallab, who also goes by the name Sinkane and has appeared as an auxiliary member of Caribou in the past, is the latest addition to the OM line-up.

Skeletal Lamping track list
Nonpareil of Favor
Wicked Wisdom
For Our Elegant Caste
Touched Something’s Hollow
An Eluardian Instance
Gallery Piece
Women’s Studies Victims
St.Exquisite’s Confessions
Triphallus, to Punctuate!
And I’ve Seen a Bloody Shadow
Plastis Wafers
Death Is Not a Parallel Move
Beware Our Nubile Miscreants
Mingusings
Id Engager

Of Montreal tour dates:
08-08 Myslowice, Poland - OFF Festival
08-09 London, England - Field Day Festival
08-10 Leicester, England - Summer Sundae Weekender
10-07 Durham, NC - Carolina Theatre
10-08 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
10-10 New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom
10-15 Paris, France - Elysee Montmarte
10-16 London, England - Koko
10-17 Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz
10-18 Rome, Italy - Circolo Degli Artisi
10-19 Berlin, Germany - Lido
10-20 Stockholm Sweden - Debaser Medis
10-21 Copenhagen, Denmark - Amager Bio
10-24 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
10-25 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
10-26 Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theatre
10-27 Chicago, IL - The Riviera
10-28 Toronto, Ontario - Queen Elizabeth Theatre
10-30 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
10-31 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
11-01 Richmond, VA - The National
11-08 Atlanta, GA - The Tabernacle
11-11 New Orleans, LA - Howlin Wolf
11-12 Houston, TX - Warehouse Liv
11-13 Austin, TX - 507 E. 6th Street
11-14 Dallas, TX - House of Blues Dallas
11-15 Lawrence, KS - Liberty Hall
11-16 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
11-17 Murray, UT - Murray Super Theatre
11-19 Seattle, WA - Showbox So Do
11-20 Portland, OR - Roseland
11-21 San Francisco, CA - Regency Center Grand Ballroom
11-22 Los Angeles, CA - TBA

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