Of Montreal - Aethermead [CD]

Aethermead, the newest offering and 20th full-length album from Of Montreal, finds the band revisiting sounds from their early years, while still pushing artistic boundaries with their iconic style of pop & indie rock. Celebrated for their unique and prolific output, frontperson and primary songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Kevin Barnes recorded the album at Brooklyn's Honey Jar studios with audio engineer, Drew Vandenberg (Faye Webster, Toro y Moi), with basic tracking done live to a 16-track tape machine with Barnes' longtime live band. "I wanted to capture a quick moment together and to make on-the-fly, spontaneous creative decisions," says Barnes. "It felt very liberating and exhilarating to have to start and finish an album in a month's time." The result shimmers with indie pop elements of their 2004 release, Satanic Panic in the Attic, as well as the raw, live energy of 2013's Lousy With Sylvianbriar. Inspired partly from a recent move to Brooklyn, NY and a yearning for community, the album marks a shift in Barnes' daily routines, with the album's title referencing a section of Prospect Park called the Nethermead, where Barnes walks their dog every day. "I started a meditation practice soon after moving to help me self-regulate," says Barnes. "I began to imagine I was sending all my destructive and useless thoughts/energies into the ether." Barnes' beautiful and melodic chord progressions are on full display with tracks like "Already Dreaming," as well as the straight-up rock & roll banger "Take The Form." Other highlights include the loungey "My Zhe Zhe," as well as the bluntly sexual lead single, "When." From the breakthrough brilliance of 2007's Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? to a steady run of boundary-pushing releases, Of Montreal have remained fearless sonic shapeshifters-equally at home crafting hook-laden anthems as they are exploring surreal, experimental textures. The band's prolific output has led to numerous late-night TV appearances-including The Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon-and brilliant collaborations with artists such as Solange, Janelle Monáe, and Jon Brion.On stage, they transform concerts into immersive spectacles of color, costume, and cathartic energy. The band has performed across the globe, gracing festival stages at Coachella, Primavera, Lollapalooza, Vive Latino and beyond, while also amassing hundreds of millions of streams worldwide. With a new tour on the horizon, Of Montreal continue to celebrate their legacy while pushing boldly forward.