This seems Yes' most controversial album, and not just among my prog friends but apparently on this site as well. Here you will not find anything to do with the band's epic masterwork of their earlier days, but rather somewhat musically interesting and (for the most part) more or less well written pop-ish songs designed for the time. It has a strong and obvious connection with the sound introduced on 90125, but I personally find this one a bit less repetitive with more layering and keyboard work that is slightly more in touch with the band's older work. So, the pop sound combined with the slight musical elevation are probably the main reason for the controversy behind the album.

Even the issue of how progressive this album seems pretty controversial. I have at some point in my life been into the more eighties sounding music and am now a full progger, so I have been on both sides of the isle and can say it does, indeed, hint if not taste of progressive elements. If you put this album up to the ears of someone who was a fan of eighties music, they'd probably tell you it's progressive rock, and up to the ears of a progger, eighties rock. So I say it's a combination, and what balance that combination is seems up to the listener to decide. It's already evident that the opinionated Yes symphonic purists dismiss this album as pop rubbish, but I however acknowledge this as at least tasteful, somewhat progressive eighties music. Really, if you compare it to Genesis' work in the eighties', Big Generator is much more musically variant and interesting, especially the second half of the album.

So what is progressive about this album? I'd say, the keyboard work has a large play in it, especially in achieving certain atmospheres and sounds. There's a some guitar work and use of the vocal lines that contribute to that mentality as well. Final Eyes is a pretty good example of these qualities. If that's it, than what isn't progressive about this album, you might ask? It's mainly in the drumming department. When I particularly focus on the drum parts, they are BORING as HELL. There are some parts where their simplicity works pretty well, particularly in Big Generator and Love Will Find a Way, but come on! I think I could probably play a lot of it (hey, I do know some drumming... sort of). The only interesting parts were the competent transitional fills. The songs are also generally somewhat repetitive in nature, at least as far as progressive rock terms go, but not too bad.

As far as the actual writing, I though it was overall in the album quite splendid. I suppose it's a bit similar to Genesis' eighties music, but a lot more notes and chord changes in a shorter amount of time, keeping one far from becoming bored to death. There's a lot of energy everywhere in the album, whether it's put to a heavy rock use or more passionate atmospheric use. The melodic lines are at times blissful, others mediocre. I think the band had a good time making this album, and I don't understand it when others say it's uninspired. Other than the drums, everything sounds pretty good to my ears, at times beautiful and dripping with emotion, others sort of mediocre and a sign of what is to come in Yes' future.

There's more to this album than one might perceive at first listen, certainly a bit more than 90125, which wasn't all too terrible of an album to begin with. When I first heard this album a few years ago, half paying attention, I certainly didn't think much of it and dismissed it as another crummy Yes album. But the second time I listened more closely, with a more musically educated mind, I was very surprised to enjoy it as much as I did. I'd say this release was probably their best since Going for the One, and is probably at least one of if not their best studio album since (though that still isn't saying very much, unfortunately).

The songs themselves are a bit of hit and almost miss. I enjoyed Rhythm of Love and Big Generator, both pretty good rockin' songs, but are probably the most pop-ish on the album, and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people simply heard the first few songs and assumed the whole album was that way, thus all of the bad ratings. I found Shoot High Aim Low ok, but pretty boring overall, and Almost Like Love overly repetitive. But then come the two songs that I now hold very dear in my Yes collection, Love Will Find a Way, the song in which I originally discovered Yes when I heard it in on satellite radio (which then lead me into prog, so there's a lot of sentimental value there as well, what a great intro!) and Final Eyes, probably the most progressive and atmospheric song on the album. I'm Running and Holy Lamb where good songs too, the later alluding more than perhaps anything to Yes' early music.

So I think you can see know why this album seems so controversial, why some people review it four or even five, and others a one or two. It has many brilliant parts and mediocre (or less) parts, and for some the eighties sound itself eliminates the brilliant parts altogether. I, however, am not allergic to eighties sounding music, and I in fact occasionally (though rarely) embrace it. Put simply, this album sounds good to me in its totality, and I recommend it for people with an open mind and those who enjoyed 90125 as well as other eighties albums by progressive bands like Rush and Genesis. There's nothing more to say!

by Draith


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The Southwest landing at Denver is so hot, bumpy and sharp that both the steward and the pilot feel obliged to joke about it: “We’re like the Broncos,” the attendant says, “we’ll take our touchdowns any way we can,” and the captain intones, in a distinctly un-Chuck-Yeager-like voice, “I’m Senator Joe Biden, and I’m putting the hammer down.”

I’m not entirely thrilled that I’m scheduled to hang out in the Denver airport for five hours awaiting my flight to Telluride, but there are unexpected pleasures: it’s the last day of the Democratic convention, and I hear Wesley Clark (Gen., retired) being paged on the airport intercom. Also stuck in the Great Lakes charter lounge en route to the festival is Mike Leigh, whose plane from NY was late, forcing him into standby for Telluride. We converse as though we were old friends, despite the fact that at our last encounter – I interviewed him at the San Francisco International Film Festival – he more than lived up to his reputation as, well, a cranky curmudgeon who does not suffer fools gladly. Not my happiest conversation, though it went well in fits and starts. (N.B.: If posts from Telluride sound like an exercise in extreme name-dropping, let it be said that one of the attractions of this particularly intimate festival is its engagingly egalitarian air. Festival-goers are encouraged to accost filmmakers in the street, before and after screenings, or while standing in line, and for a few days the lions lie down with the lambs and everybody, well, chats away like old friends.)

Actually the first person I see in the lounge IS an old friend, Phillip Lopate, the New York-based writer and critic, and I’m both thrilled (because I had no idea he was going to Telluride) and appalled (because I’m so happy to see him that I fear I might let his filmgoing agenda influence, not to say deform, mine, over the next several days). It turns out he’s accompanying Paul Schrader, director of Adam Resurrected, and Yoram Kaniuk, the 85-year-old Israeli author of the novel upon which it’s based. Paul’s travel book is Berkeley professor’s Vikram Chandra’s Sacred Games, and we’re soon joined in the waiting room by Salman Rushdie, who I last saw a couple of weeks ago at a dinner Vikram gave at Berkeley’s Vik’s Chaat. But, unlike Leigh, Rushdie betrays no flicker of recognition – despite having been quite happy to sign and date a shyly-proffered copy of The Enchantress of Florence there for me. I wish I’d had the presence of mind to ask him to add “At Vik’s Chaat, over lamb curry, tandoori chicken, and raita.”

In my conversation with Leigh in San Francisco, I’d had the temerity to compare Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky to the films of Robert Bresson, because its heroine, Poppy, seemed to me to be a secular saint.

“I don’t like Bresson, “ Leigh snapped. Which is his right, of course. But I was tempted to interrupt his happy chat with Paul Schrader in order to mention that Schrader had once written a book entitled Transcendental Style In Film: Ozu Bresson Dreyer. (Leigh is entirely used to being compared to Ozu, as it happens. And one of my favorite Leigh quotes is “I didn’t understand how influenced I was by Olmi [another frequent comparative reference] until I actually saw a film of his.”)

I’m a little embarrassed that my plane literature is the September issue of Vogue, while Schrader is sitting across from me immersed in Chandra and Rushdie is, well, Rushdie. (Even the engaging but slight book I read on the plane from Oakland, Lee Israel’s Can You Ever Forgive Me?: Memoirs of a Literary Forger, would cut no ice with this crowd.) And Phillip has pulled out an advance copy of Two Marriages, his newest book, officially published on September 2. Like a proud Jewish mother, I try to sell it to Sony Classics’ Michael Barker, who is more enthusiastic about reading it before I utter the deathless words “There’s a movie in it.”

Apparently the heat of the day requires a close watch on the weight being loaded onto the tiny planes, and several people become apoplectic when they learn their luggage will arrive the morning after they do, in order to load the maximum number of people on board.

I notice that the filmmakers are not among the complainers (“Give me a name of a person I can call or email or write!”), being perhaps more resigned to the vagaries of travel, since many of them tread the festival circuit for up to a year after finishing their films (the movie gods willing). When I try to cheer Leigh up during his wait – “This is what happens when you make a wonderful movie” – he sighs, “It also would happen if I’d made a crap film.” (I don’t think he ever has, actually.)

As it happens, Rushdie and Leigh are on my flight. (I can see the headlines if the plane crashes: “Rushdie, Leigh, 14 Others Perish.”) Our plane is delayed so long – even after pulling away from the gate, we seem to be on the tarmac forever, waiting our turn in line – that I’m afraid we might miss the landing window at the tiny Telluride airport, the highest commercial airport in the US, which has no landing lights and is perforce required to shut down at dusk. We’re told that one of the reasons it’s taking so long is that because of the Democratic convention, they’re limiting takeoffs to the west.

We land amid the “picturesque views of the San Juan mountains” (not to say heart-stopping) promised on the Telluride Airport website – if you sit right behind the pilots, it looks like you’re in a rather nerve-wracking video game. I’m not a player – but I like it.

In a relatively few minutes I find myself ensconced in the cozy living room of a friend of a friend, listening to Barack Obama speak, leafing through one of the festival’s publications, wondering how many of its more than 50 programs I can see over the next four days, and how many of Obama’s promises he can keep over (hopefully) the next four – or eight – years.

A collection of archive material comprising rehearsals and radio broadcasts never released at the time of recording, this 2001 release is a fascinating document of an otherwise unexposed band creating exciting and innovative material steeped in the experimentations of Terry Riley, and infused with the heady sound of psychedelia that was omnipresent in the 1960s.

It's not as innovative or wide-ranging in creativity as either Pink Floyd or The Soft Machine, though, and certainly, each piece in this collection bar a solo experiment by BoAnders Persson from 1966 follows in the wake of Piper....

The pieces themselves are generally drone and raga-based affairs, rather similar in overall style and concept to Malachi's Holy Music release of 1966, but the overall soundscape has a strong leaning towards a more Heavy Metal style.

Tio minuter (Ten minutes) dates from late September 1967. It's a really simple and extremely loose jam around two chords, with painful, ploddy drumming and heavy metal style fuzzed guitars, going for what some might see as a textural approach, with a violin providing a single-note continuo, like a stripped-back version of It's a Beautiful Day, without the fireworks of David LaFlamme. Every so often, it all kinda comes together like a Hawkwind or Pink Fairies out take. It's a bit like Can, but without the attention to detail in overall layout. There's no doubting the place in the scheme of things, though - this is essentially Krautrock at the inception of the movement, but it lacks any of the sophistication or architecture in arrangement of Pink Floyd, and feels rather dragged out to the timeframe. The change around 6:45 is particularly lugubrious, like Cream on mogadons.

From Tunis to India in Fullmoon (On Testosterone) dates from early 1968. At 20 and a half minutes, it's the second longest piece in this collection, and again, sounds like one of Hawkwinds more anarchic jams, this connection highlighted by the constantly wailing sax.

A continuous bass line drives the fuzzed-out guitars into another texture fest, more coherent than the previous one, but the minimalist changes over continual drones are not dramatically different to what other psychedelic bands had done in the previous year. What is notable, though, is the overall heaviness in texture.

There's a much welcomed breakdown around 11:30, which builds very slowly and chaotically back to the orginal idea - if music with events in is what gets you going, you won't find too much in here.

India (Slight Return) dates from February 1968. It's somewhat out of tune, and an uncomfortable listen as a result. The first few minutes remind me of the early part of Careful with That Axe Eugene - but without the sense of purpose. The purpose here seems to be to wallow in the sonic textures rather than to create artistic music.

A glimpse inside the Glyptotec-66 is a recording of BoAnders Persson which, dating from 1966, is the earliest piece on this collection, and essentially a tape loop experimentation. Again, this is not event-driven music, and is simply an experiment with sonic textures and feedback - but is probably the most effective piece on the album, reminding me of some of Stockhausen's work

One quiet afternoon (in the King’s Garden) is the earliest band recording, dating from July 1967, and is the loosest piece of the lot. Again, a simple two-chord jam with breakdowns and minimal textural adjustments, it's in no way as interesting as the Hapshash and the Coloured Coat album, except, perhaps, for the complete dissolution into noise, which may interest fans of noise rock - but it's quite hard to tell from the recording quality how much is intentional noise, and how much is equipment overload.

Sov gott Rose-marie (Parts 1-3: It’s only love, Till Indien and Sov gott Rose-marie) is a better quality recording, as it was made for radio broadcast in December 1967. It seems to comprise something along the lines of a pop/rock song driven by the riff to Stepping Stone, underlined when the bass plays in contrary motion. At 2:20, this gives way to the Careful with that Axe Eugene idea used in India (Slight Return), indicating that these two pieces are musically linked. This suite is rounded off with an interesting Krautrock-sounding section with vocal drones continually chanting the title.

Skrubba was recorded live in May 1968, and is a painful half an hour jam that is based on the second idea in Let There Be More Light from Pink Floyd's A Saucerful of Secrets (released in April of that year, so the connection seems more than a co-incidence, particularly since Floyd would have gigged the ideas in the months from late 1967 until the album's release). This has none of the sophisticated construction of Floyd's piece, however, and makes me wonder whether I should upgrade my original rating of that album. This piece is too long by about 25 minutes and adds nothing to music's canon.

Milano also dates from May 1968, and is much more interesting... at first. It's an intense ride - but another jam, this time around one chord. The heavy sonic textures are appealing, but lose their interest quite quickly.

On How to live is a jam from the summer of 1968, and reminds me of the Hapshash and the Coloured Coat album in the use of bongos - but really, that's just a typical feature of psychedelia from this time. The birdsong is an interesting addition, though, and makes for a pleasant if repetitive piece of chill-out music.

Blåslåten is the latest (and most interesting) piece on the album, dating from August 1968. It's driven by busked saxes, with reverb giving a real underground flavour. The rippling accompaniment is a clear connection to the work of Terry Riley, and, despite the drifts out of tune, is probably the best piece on here.

Summary

Another interesting collection of psychedelia from the time of its inception - but there are plenty of other interesting pieces from this time, and this is not an outstanding, progressive or innovative example, drawing, as it does, from the leading-edge work of Pink Floyd and the Soft Machine (recalling that the Daevid Allen Trio also experimented with tape loops before the Soft Machine was founded).

by Certif1ed


PÄRSON SOUND Music Online:
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Thrash metal was definitely already in full swing by 1987, with several major regional scenes across the world. It was a style characterized by it's aggressive feel, fast tempos, percussive riffing style (for the most part played in the lower registers of the guitar/bass) with many riffs played in staccato (for those not aware of the term, particularly in the thrash context it refers to the short stabbing rhythm notes) and often palm muted too. One was the Bay Area scene, consisting of bands such as Metallica, Megadeth, Blind Illusion, Exodus, Testament, Slayer et al. By 1987, the punk influence in thrash metal was far less apparent, with many Bay Area bands featuring greater technicality than ever before and hints of progressive rock influences creeping in as well. With many Bay Area thrash guitarists having been taught by local virtuoso Joe Satriani, it's no surprise the Bay Area scene was known as perhaps the most technical of the thrash scene. The Brazilian thrash scene brought along a style somewhat closer to death metal than the Bay Area scene, along with the Teutonic (originating in Germany) scene which heavily influenced the black metal and death metal genres. The German band Kreator were already playing a thrash metal style which heavily bridged the gap between thrash and death metal, with notable Bay Area band Slayer also playing a big role in the development of death metal. While the East Coast scene was fairly popular, the more melodic and usually less technical style had less of an impact on death metal.

One may ask why I give this short history lesson. My answer is, in order to understand where death metal came from, one must have a an understanding of thrash metal, a genre which death metal would derive many of it's musical traits from.

Chuck Shuldiner had already released a demo with the band Mantas (which would change it's name to Death later on) in 1983, and in the following years more demos were released. The first Death album reared it's head in 1987, with all guitar, bass and vocals parts played by Chuck Schuldiner, all songs by Chuck, and drums provided courtesy of Chris Reifert. It was essentially, a creation by Chuck Schudiner, a man with an incredible vision and genius, a man hellbent on creating something different, a man with the hunger to do something new and exciting.

The harsh death metal growling/screaming vocal style Chuck unleashed on this album, does well to hide the fact the lyrics, are far from being great. But don't forgot this was 1987, when death metal was still a young genre, and at the time, lyrics of death, gore and violence was against what was the norm, and it's no mean feat to be able to do that.

Infernal Death starts out with a heavy, chunky riff, accompanied by the harsh screaming/growl DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! from Chuck's throat. Simultaneously evil and comical. Then comes the intense thrashy/death riff, which powers the song along with a thundering force along with the slamming drumming from Reifert. Chuck provides the listener with a rapid fire, fairly technical solo in for good measure too, and the rest of the song continues, with the same rhythm, with a few changes in the riffing.

Zombie Ritual opens with a Phrygian Dominant lead (the scale which creates what some call an Egyptian sound) and like Infernal Death, the opening section of the song is relatively slow in tempo. It kicks into a heavy, fast paced deathy riff. The song progresses in a sense, with the noticeable and relatively frequent evolution/changes in riffage and drum patterns. The guitar solo, like the previous track's, is fast and furious, no more and certainly no less.

Denial Of Life starts off full force almost straight away, quickly building into a series of pummeling riffs and evolving riffs. I noticed the solo on Denial of Life seems to stand out a bit more than the solo on Zombie Ritual, perhaps a little more melodic sounding.

Sacrificial to my ears, has more of a evolutionary feel than the first two songs, with changing drum patterns, noticeable progression and change in the riffing, and points of building intensity. The solo tears your head off with intense, blazing alternate picked lines that could rip a hole in a steel wall if you converted the sound into a thing of more physical nature (weird description I know, but that's what it made me feel!). I love that solo.

Mutilation is not vastly different. But it's sure as hell brutal to the core, and has a heck of a chorus to match. You must die in pain, you must die in pain, you must die in pain, you must die in pain, Mutilation! (repeat Mutilation several times). Who ever thought brutal and catchy would go in the same sentence in 1987? It seems Chuck had the unique vision to do so.

If you were thinking perhaps the album might let up, you were wrong. Absolutely completely, utterly wrong. It just gets more brutal! The riffs crush even more and the lyrical content is just as brutal. Some very inventive riffing on Baptized in Blood and And Torn To Pieces and a crazy chaotic solo in Torn To Pieces too, but always in control, such is the virtuosity of Chuck in his guitar playing.

Evil Dead caught me by surprise by the melodic and rather nice opening lead and was a slight break from the rather insane onslaught. Scream Blood Gore has some seriously evil riffage, and with all it's intensity and power, makes for a absolute killer closer to the album.

Overall, it has a surprising amount of melodic elements to the riffing (but maybe not melodic in a way that most non metallers understand) in edition to the unparalleled brutality of the riffs, no doubt powered along with a helping of tritone based riffs.

Lyrically, anyone that gets offended, is probably taking it too seriously. Just as you can portray extreme in a film context purely as art, it's the same thing here, and is really just fantasy and it really is best to approach the lyrical themes here like that, something not to be taken to heart or too seriously. Anyone should know it's about the music first and foremost, and the guys are in it for that and not for the violent/gore aspect. To me, the lyrics are silly and importantly, fun as well. They are too ridiculous to be taken seriously, and it should be seen that way. Some people get a laugh out of this sort of thing, because they know it's just fantasy lyrics that have no bearing to how they really perceive violence. For Chuck's venture into something well against what was perceived as normal lyrics, I have nothing but praise for that.

Musically, it may not be progressive rock really. What it was though, was not only a capable display of virtuosity, but an album with progressive ideals i.e it's nor prog, but it's truly progressive.

It would go on to change the face of metal to come, and will continue to do so.

by HughesJB4


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As a film, Firestarter could likely be a more popular one out of those for which TD composed the original score, during the 1983-1984 period, the young heroine with the supernatural gift (or burden) growing later to be the even more famous (teen-)actress Drew Barrymore. I occasionally spot endless re-runs, late at night, of this film, which means quite a lot, making the film probably the second after Legend that actually makes it on the TV channels ever so often. Of course though, we’re talking, no matter what, about a low movie with decent action, the same B-rate (or what’s it called) qualities being almost transferred into the soundtrack, one that’s made aptly by Tangerine Dream, but hardly escapes average marks.

There’s, in theory, a lot to talk about this soundtrack, but the risk of mixing things up is to be avoided. After a close listen to Thief, it should be clear that the level and manner altogether of making soundtracks degraded, a term like „concept soft (and short) music” for such experiments being more than mildly put. Additionally, there is absolutely no comparison with the studio original works, especially given that the first half of the 80s was a „still alive and prosperous” mark for Tangerine Dream’s pure musical affairs – it would simply be no contest. Some pieces from Firestarter will bring out the impression of hashing some patters, sounds or excerpts from Tangram and Logos Live up to the close-contemporary Hyperborea, the occasional feel of such moments being that they were once „sketches” of the studio full compositions or such – yet it’s all frugal enough. I always tend to merge Firestarter with Wavelenght, as a listening experience, because they’re both similarly brewed and short to bear; still, upon viewing them separately, and considering Wavelength’s SF-viable music a bit more up the scale, the fault in Firestarter’s lackluster can simply be its pure orientation towards electro-rock and digital-pop, with thematic and melodic simple-minded processing, modeled in order to support the action of the film, in moments of suspense, of transition or of dead times.

The caliber of the soundtrack isn’t precious, nor sufficient (but neither demanding), plus the worst feeling of all possible ones can be a more than slight „boredom” taking control of you, during the listen. Still, while some of Firestarter’s songs are clearly of the wrong approach, better things immediately alternate – without this thing making them salutary – and improve the perspective, up a decent motion, or at least up where you can’t totally call it scrambled. For instance, the „main theme” song, The Run, falls very short with its demonstration of dynamic pop expression, simply because it sounds unimpressive. On the other hand, Charly The Kid, made the same way, does much more to please and to surf up the music’s character, creating desirable effects. The share of forceful and purely melodic tunes is set equally (and, often, alternatively), just like a couple of long lengths are placed between the casual short tracks. The one and only real merit of Firestarter is the cool precision of creating a musical story, much like following the film’s scenario itself. To add more impressions: the thriller climax is left towards the end, the „finale” Flash Final even bearing some sampled electronic sounds; Rainbirds Move, more in the middle of the album, is a musical catchy, ungrowing theme Tangerine Dream will later re-use (Tangents, the 2006 Tempodrome concert); and while something from TD’s main 80s sound is felt in various places, in a „subtle” but degraded way, Out Of The Heat is an example of a lazy melo-ambient piece bringing more of Edgar Froese’s solo music.

Firestarter’s level is standard at best, its quality is tricky, its stability is mildly fine, plus its way of capturing and entertaining the listener risks being the lowest on the list of virtues. With these things in mind, it quite fails to be the „good” reach” – and I am positive that „purists” of TD’s music can even dismantle the work, based on its simple, impure and popular string(ency). But it can also be reminded that Firestarter respects the etalon of „soundtrack music” – which is, again, an individual branch in TD’s music – so that its stable and programmed qualities could be respected with a certain doze of optimism. Between cutting flaws and the healing pleasure of better moments, fans can really deliberate either in the good or the bad way. For me personally, the magic is simply non-existent, plus the echo of the score lasts drastically short, during the play or afterwards. So the glass is not quite half-filled.

by Ricochet


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Latest release from their fortch coming album, “Skeletal Lamping”, which is due out October 7th, 2008.

last.fm bio:

of Montreal (formed in 1997) are an indie pop band from Athens, Georgia, United States, fronted by Kevin Barnes.

They were among the second wave of groups to emerge from The Elephant 6 Recording Company and the group has a style that is typical of many Elephant 6 bands due to their interest in combining musical experimentation with the basic tenets of pop i.e. catchy melodies and sing-along choruses. The band’s style has been influenced by conventional indie pop, psychedelic music, vaudeville and music hall on their earlier releases and by afrobeat, funk, krautrock and reggae on their recent releases.

The band’s style has been known to change between albums. At first, the band embraced a more simple, quirky, lo-fi indie pop sound, which occasionally bordered on twee pop. The band was created by Kevin Barnes and named after a failed romance with a woman from Montreal, though the story changes in various interviews. Barnes was the only member of the “group” prior to his relocation to Athens, Georgia. There, he met Derek Almstead, later of Circulatory System, M Coast, Elf Power etc., and Bryan Poole, who also performs as The Late B.P. Helium.

Together, they recorded their first album, Cherry Peel, as well as The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit’s Flower and The Bedside Drama: A Petite Tragedy.
A number of singles and a re-release of The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit’s Flower occurred before the release of the band’s third album, The Gay Parade in 1999. With contributions from several members of the Elephant Six collective at the time, it also featured artwork from Kevin’s brother David Barnes, who would continue to do artwork for future albums.

This album marked that the band had moved to a fuller sound, which is also found on its follow-up, Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse. These two albums contain more narrative lyrics, as opposed to the rather personal lyrical matter of those preceding it, and often imitating the style of old 1950s radio plays.
After production on The Gay Parade began in 1998, Poole left the band to focus on his duties with Elf Power, another Elephant Six band from Athens. Barnes also recruited Jamey Huggins and Dottie Alexander, who had been performing together as Lightning Bug vs. Firefly, to play various instruments. Derek moved from drums to bass. The band was joined soon after by Marshmallow Coast’s Andy Gonzales.
Following the release of The Gay Parade, the band signed with Kindercore Records, who would release a number of singles and compilations. It wasn’t until 2001 that Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse would be released as a new album with original material. The album again featured contributions from across the Elephant 6 spectrum.

In 2002, Aldhils Arboretum was released, with a slightly different sound than its predecessors, as the songs were more directly structured. This album marks the beginning of the change in of Montreal’s sound, with more danceable rhythms than ever before, especially on the album’s closer, “Death Dance Of The Omipapas and Sons For You”. A successful tour ensued, including of Montreal’s first trip to the UK, along with a tour-only EP.
Kindercore Records would fold shortly after the release of Arboretum, and of Montreal’s status was also threatened. Kevin got married, and Andy and Derek left the band. Barnes, being uncomfortable with the unrest, as well as some divisions within the band, took to writing and performing their 2004 album Satanic Panic in the Attic mostly by himself. Released by Polyvinyl Records, it became one of their more successful efforts to that point. The 2004 tour saw The Late B.P. Helium (Bryan Poole) rejoin the band, with some bass played by Kevin’s partner Nina Barnes. The album marked a shift to an The sound shifted to something more electronic with traditional structures, to be further advanced in later albums and new songs. In their most recent releases and concerts, the band has fully embraced a sort of techno-pop glam image, with little of their previous incarnations surfacing. This style is featured in singles such as PlayDisconnect the Dots. The style would continue to evolve into 2005’s The Sunlandic Twins, which was even more a Barnes solo effort. Recorded in Athens, with the exception of one track recorded in Norway, it was a much more pronounced electronic album. The album became a success, mostly due to the singles “So Begins Our Alabee” and the MTV clip for “Wraith Pinned to the Mist (and Other Games)”.

The band released several collections of singles in early 2006. Barnes recorded most of the band’s 2007 release, Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?, by himself while living in Norway and Athens, Georgia. The switch to autobiographical themes of suicide, depression and isolation of the album was a direct product of his troubled personal life during that period.

of Montreal’s next album, Skeletal Lamping, is scheduled to be released in October 2008.

Lyrically, their style has changed dramatically throughout the years. In the beginning, many songs were narratives of personal or humorous situations, such as “Tim, I Wish You Were Born A Girl”, from Cherry Peel. This style, however, changed with The Gay Parade, where many songs involve small narratives surrounding invented characters (in songs such as “Jacques Lamure”, “The Autobiographical Grandpa”, “Mimi Merlot” and “Rose Robert”). Others act as extracts from fictional conversations (“Advice From a Divorced Gentleman to His Bachelor Friend Considering Marriage” and “Good Morning Mr. Edminton” as examples). With Aldhils Arboretum came a slight return to the previous writing style, except following more poppy, classical lyrical structures (such as the use of choruses, which are generally absent in the Gay Parade/Coquelicot years). This style continued throughout Satanic Panic and The Sunlandic Twins to some extent. On the band’s most recent album, Hissing Fauna: Are You the Destroyer?, the lyrics are much more personal than previously used, with songs detailing emotions within the speaker.

Another unique quality of the band is the fusion of ostensibly gloomy lyrics with bouncy, upbeat melodies and hooks. On Aldhils Arboretum, for example, the lyrics for tracks like “Doing Nothing” and “Old People in the Cemetery” focus on apathy, loneliness or death while being contrasted with cheerful instrumentation. Another example of this tendency is shown in their choice of covers; for example, Yoko Ono’s “I Felt Like Smashing my Head Through a Clear Glass Window” from The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit’s Flower.

True to the style of most Elephant 6 recording artists, of Montreal’s members have been in a variety of side projects and other bands:
The band itself has performed as the backing band for Marshmallow Coast on record and on tour.

My First Keyboard was the pseudonym used by Dottie Alexander to release the song “The You I Created” on the Kindercore singles club. of Montreal acted as her backing band.

Kevin Barnes did a comedy tour with his wife, Nina, and his brother, David, called “A Pollinaire Rave”.
Jamey Huggins released an album under the name James Husband, which featured a cover of The Beatles’ “We Can Work it Out”.
Bryan Poole has a solo career as The Late B.P. Helium.
Kevin Barnes has recently been collaborating with Andrew VanWyngarden from MGMT, on a project called Blikk Fang (formerly Ocelot Fang).
Derek Almstead has worked with many artists as a musician and engineer including his collaboration with Andy Gonzales - M Coast, Elf Power, Circulatory System, and many more.
Kevin Barnes played keyboard in a song on Bright Eyes’ album Letting Off the Happiness.
The song “Wraith Pinned to the Mist (And Other Games)” can be heard on radio and television commercials with words changed for an advertisement for Outback Steakhouse. Similarly, their song “Every Day Feels Like Sunday” was used in television commercials for NASDAQ and Garmin GPS systems.

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