of Montreal

When it comes to musical evolution, there are few bands that can contend with the theatrical whims of indie juggernaut of Montreal. Founded in 1996 by mercurial frontman Kevin Barnes—their only continuous member—the Athens, Georgia band came up as part of the underground collective Elephant 6 alongside groups like Neutral Milk Hotel and The Olivia Tremor Control. Starting with the twee-ish psych pop of 1997 debut LP Cherry Peel, Barnes has steadily released albums at a pace of nearly one a year, keeping the free-loving, wide-eyed spirit of the band’s earliest recordings while constantly pushing his edge, both lyrically and musically. On breakthrough albums like 2005’s The Sunlandic Twins and 2007’s Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?, the band hopscotches between kaleidoscopic funk jams, dark pop confessions, glam-rock boogies, and orchestral fairy tales, as Barnes flips between being deeply personal and gleefully absurd (even taking on alter ego Georgie Fruit for 2008’s Skeletal Lamping). Throughout the years, Barnes has fully embraced his wildest pop desires and mad-scientist urges, collaborating with indie-soul queens Janelle Monáe and Solange on 2010’s False Priest and continuing to piece together sprawling sound collages, tidy folk-rock melodies, and punchy synth-pop hooks in an endless quest to capture every corner of his infinite imagination.