Back in the 90s, the Elephant 6 collective was one of the hippest things around (rightfully so!) and Kevin Barnes (he/she/they) and his ever-revolving cast that went and is still going under the of Montreal name were one of the crucial parts that gave Elephant 6 collective that hip status.
Thirty years or so on, the Elephant 6 collective is essentially no more, or you could say it’s only there in remnants (even the recent documentary about it is hard to find now). However, Barnes and of Montreal are still around, ever-shifting and changing and remaining in the forefront of some of the best art pop/rock to be heard.
Throughout, and up to aethermead, Barnes has tried on a wide variety of musical outfits, from pop and singer-songwriter fare to electronics and anything that goes in-between. Sure, some of those albums are much better than others – we’re at album number 20 now, after all! – but no matter what approach he’s take, Barnes has been able to avoid making a mess among those musical shifts – and the vast majority of the time has come out with something well worth your time. Throughout, he has been able to garnish the music with some equally detailed and often intriguing lyrics and incredible visuals as album covers.
So what is new with aethermead – and it is up to each listener to decipher what lies behind it? Well, with the electronics are on the back-burner here. Musically, the 13-song cycle is one of the Barnes’ personally-tinged affairs and in many ways is a sort of a musical recap of what he has done in the 30 years.
Essentially, it covers every art pop element that Barnes has touched upon while maintaining an ebb and flow with out any detriments. Whether it is more succinct songs like “When” or more detailed ones like “From The Font of You”, Barnes picks and choses musical elements with such an ease that often escapes other artists.
And that personal element is of course detailed in the lyrics. It’s as if Barnes is opening up pages of his diary full of free-flowing, zany, and multiply-amusing thoughts: “Out into the jungle I go / I know you’re at work so I won’t bother you / Out into the wilds I climb undefined you’re offline and I’m not supposed to bother you / But I’m already dreaming harm-based entertainment meant to still our nuptial dread/I’m gonna miss you when I’m dead” (“Already Dreaming”).
Making things personal can often stifle artists, and make them come up with music that is not among their best. But Barnes has never had that proble, and still doesn’t seem to have that problem here. The interest in of Montreal might be waning, but aethermead sits not for behind his most accomplished works so far.
