Few would guess by looking at Kevin Barnes’ healthy, boyish complexion that the past decade has been a time of immense change for him.
As the man behind psych-pop group Of Montreal, Barnes’ humble beginning in Athens, Ga. is a thing of the past, primarily because of his music’s burgeoning popularity. The band will be playing three dates in Los Angeles this weekend: tonight at The El Rey, Saturday at the Avalon, and Sunday at the Troubadour.
But before breaking into the popular rock scene, Of Montreal was part of one of the great indie-rock communities.
Bryan Poole, Of Montreal’s guitarist and only remaining original member, remembers the band’s roots in the Elephant 6 collective, a group of several like-minded bands heavily influenced by the ’60s psychedelic movement.
“It seemed like a utopian experience, and Of Montreal definitely was a part of that. There was really a sense of family ““ but it was a huge family; it could be up to 50 people ““ and we all felt like we’d been waiting for almost all our lives to finally meet people with similar ideas,” Poole said.
As Of Montreal began to reach a larger audience and the collective waned, Athens ceased to be its focal point. Barnes, along with his wife Nina, moved to Oslo, Norway, where he assumed full control of the band, writing and recording the songs almost entirely on his own.
“Kevin got to this point where he felt like the band had gotten away from him. He missed the fact that he could put on headphones and just do it and not have to wait a couple of days for somebody to have the time to come over and do something when he had the idea the next second,” Poole said.
Of Montreal’s latest full-length, “Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?” which was released Tuesday, is the result of such free-flowing inspiration. Full to bursting with ideas, energy and intricacies, the album also witnesses Barnes’ shift from character-based narratives back to the more personal material of his first few releases.
“I know when Kevin was writing those songs, they were really from his heart,” Poole said, remembering some of Barnes’ early Of Montreal tracks. “I’d get choked up hearing them.”
Many of the new songs are similar in vein and address Barnes’ relationship problems, as well as the culture shock and social isolation that came as a result of his move to Norway.
“The Past is a Grotesque Animal,” a dark, 12-minute track that finds a panic-stricken Barnes on the brink of emotional collapse, exemplifies this lyrical soul-baring.
In support of the new album, the band is several dates into a cross-country tour that will include this weekend’s concerts. Poole noted that even the live shows have undergone a noticeable change, incorporating elaborate costumes (which he described with the phrase “sexy androgyny”) and a variety of theatrical props.
“We just like the surrealism of it. It used to be a punk-rock attitude, DIY ““ you get up there and play in the clothes that you’re wearing that day. But you’re entertaining people. That’s why it’s called a show,” Poole said. “It’s a fine line between cool and stupid, and we definitely flaunt a little bit of that.”
Of Montreal’s increased popularity has also allowed the group a greater choice of venues in a greater variety of cities, a luxury that has afforded it the opportunity to make the majority of its shows accessible to all ages.
“Some of these other clubs, you get people that are jaded and they just sit at the bar,” Poole said of past performances at 21-plus venues. “They’re just trying to judge you, or they’re talking, or they’re trying to mack on girls, and there’s not that enthusiasm.”
According to Poole, one of the greatest joys of being a musician is the ability to bring new music to a young, eager audience.
“That’s the best time of your life, when you’re discovering music. I wish I could go back there,” Poole said. “When you’re first coming across new sounds, that’s the most beautiful thing in the world. For us to know that we’re doing that for some kids, it blows our minds.”