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Kevin Barnes
Kevin Lawrence Barnes is an American musician who is the singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter for the indie rock group of Montreal, part of the Elephant 6 Collective. Barnes started the band and, although providing several stories as to the origin of the name, is said to have named it after a failed romance with a woman from Montreal. The group has recorded 18 full-length albums, and numerous EPs and 7" singles. Barnes' brother, David, is an artist and has designed most of the band's artwork for albums since the release of The Gay Parade.
of Montreal consists of various musicians, with Barnes being the only continuous member. The group has recorded 19 studio albums, beginning with Cherry Peel (1997), and, most recently, Lady on the Cusp, which was released on May 17, 2024 on Polyvinyl Records. While melodic pop has always been Barnes's primary vehicle, the band's style has transformed significantly since its debut. The acoustic tendencies of early albums gradually transformed into a more electronic, funk, and overall eclectic sound. One of the features which often appears in Barnes's songwriting is upbeat melodies with gloomy, cryptic lyrics and morose subject matter. At different periods in the band's career, Barnes has dealt with subjects both personal and fictional, tending to employ unusual words, phrases, and sophisticated wordplay.
Barnes's writing has encompassed many styles over the years. Of Montreal's first album, Cherry Peel, dealt mainly with personal issues of unrequited love, as in the songs "Baby", "Montreal"; or "Tim I Wish You Were Born a Girl". Barnes's style then shifted to storytelling, often involving dialogues as in "Good Morning Mr. Edminton" (from the album Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse), or fictional characters, such as Rose Robert or Jacques Lamure, and even a fictional mythological creature, the Efeblum.
The albums The Gay Parade, The Bedside Drama: A Petite Tragedy, and the aforementioned Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies are constructed as concept albums.
By 2004, Barnes had started to revert to more personal lyrics, even incorporating the names of familiars and using them as characters, including Barnes's daughter Alabee, in "So Begins Our Alabee" and "Miss Blonde Your Papa Is Failing", and Eva, an acquaintance and resident of Athens, Georgia, in "Bunny Ain't No Kind of Rider".
Barnes has fluctuated between writing personal and fictional lyrics, explaining:
I think if you only write about yourself and your personal life it feels maybe a bit narcissistic, but I think it's inevitable that there will always be some aspect of your personal life or your personal emotions coming through, even if you write about something that would seem like fiction.
Barnes's lyrics, though mostly concerned with dark themes, often portray a certain fondness for:
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Kevin Barnes
Kevin Lawrence Barnes is an American musician who is the singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter for the indie rock group of Montreal, part of the Elephant 6 Collective. Barnes started the band and, although providing several stories as to the origin of the name, is said to have named it after a failed romance with a woman from Montreal. The group has recorded 18 full-length albums, and numerous EPs and 7" singles. Barnes' brother, David, is an artist and has designed most of the band's artwork for albums since the release of The Gay Parade.
of Montreal consists of various musicians, with Barnes being the only continuous member. The group has recorded 19 studio albums, beginning with Cherry Peel (1997), and, most recently, Lady on the Cusp, which was released on May 17, 2024 on Polyvinyl Records. While melodic pop has always been Barnes's primary vehicle, the band's style has transformed significantly since its debut. The acoustic tendencies of early albums gradually transformed into a more electronic, funk, and overall eclectic sound. One of the features which often appears in Barnes's songwriting is upbeat melodies with gloomy, cryptic lyrics and morose subject matter. At different periods in the band's career, Barnes has dealt with subjects both personal and fictional, tending to employ unusual words, phrases, and sophisticated wordplay.
Barnes's writing has encompassed many styles over the years. Of Montreal's first album, Cherry Peel, dealt mainly with personal issues of unrequited love, as in the songs "Baby", "Montreal"; or "Tim I Wish You Were Born a Girl". Barnes's style then shifted to storytelling, often involving dialogues as in "Good Morning Mr. Edminton" (from the album Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse), or fictional characters, such as Rose Robert or Jacques Lamure, and even a fictional mythological creature, the Efeblum.
The albums The Gay Parade, The Bedside Drama: A Petite Tragedy, and the aforementioned Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies are constructed as concept albums.
By 2004, Barnes had started to revert to more personal lyrics, even incorporating the names of familiars and using them as characters, including Barnes's daughter Alabee, in "So Begins Our Alabee" and "Miss Blonde Your Papa Is Failing", and Eva, an acquaintance and resident of Athens, Georgia, in "Bunny Ain't No Kind of Rider".
Barnes has fluctuated between writing personal and fictional lyrics, explaining:
I think if you only write about yourself and your personal life it feels maybe a bit narcissistic, but I think it's inevitable that there will always be some aspect of your personal life or your personal emotions coming through, even if you write about something that would seem like fiction.
Barnes's lyrics, though mostly concerned with dark themes, often portray a certain fondness for: