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Despite a strong and extensive eight album back catalogue, tonight’s stunning Of Montreal show consists almost entirely of tracks from ‘Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?’ Which is no bad thing as it is undoubtedly one of the best albums of the year, brimming with addictive pop tunes and the band’s most personal lyrics yet.
The album’s centre piece, an eleven minute sinister dance track, ‘The Past Is A Grotesque Animal’ gets an outing here. As does ‘Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse’ – a fine example of the band’s tendency to match dark lyrics with ridiculously uplifting music. As with much of the current album this takes inspiration from the bout of depression Kevin Barnes went through when writing material for the release. The chorus, consisting of the repetition of the line “Come on chemicals” provides a perfect sing-along.
The performance is as much about the visuals as the music. Throughout the set black cloaked figures with silver masks slither between the band members on stage brandishing all manner of goods: an oversized lobster claw, banners with hand drawn pictures and balloons full of glitter which they commence to burst over the crowd. Then there are the costumes which include feathered angel wings, fishnet tights and mock gladiator armour.
The combination of the visual performance and the music comes together perfectly on ‘She’s A Rejecter’. Here a suited businessman stands beside Kevin Barnes reading a newspaper, at the chorus however he cuts loose and frees himself from the shackles of everyday life: losing several items of clothing and ripping up the newspaper as he does so, leaping wildly to Barnes’ shouts of “ICANTICANTICANTICANT”. It’s not lost on the crowd who give the song best reception of the night. The band finish the set with a giddy rendition of ‘The Party’s Crashing Us’ – for which Kevin Barnes’ daughter Alabee joins the group on stage for the air punching finale.
There have been few gigs where Gigwise has felt so much need for an encore and luckily the band don’t disappoint by returning to the stage with an old favourite from 2005’s ‘The Sunlandic Twins’. They introduce it simply as “the one we can’t play back at home” (in reference to the track's over-exposure when it got used on a steak house advert in the USA). And so the unmistakeable, brilliant bass line of ‘Wraith Pinned To Mist And Other Games’ starts…
The performance solidifies their reputation as one of the best live bands around. It provides spectacular escapism. Just for a while you lose yourself and bask in the fine pop melodies, psychedelic imagery and the sheer theatrics of it all. Brilliant.
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