Theatrical Indie Pop juggernaut of Montreal will return to Cincinnati this coming spring.
The band is slated to perform at Over-the-Rhine's Woodward Theater on March 13. Lily And The Horse will open. Tickets are on sale now for $17 via cincyticket.com.
The group — headed up by mastermind Kevin Barnes — will be touring behind their latest album, UR FUN, which will be released on Jan. 17, 2020, via Polyvinyl Records. As the title suggests, the album is said to be "unstoppably fun" and inspired by Cyndi Lauper’s She’s So Unusual and Janet Jackson’s Control.
The album's first single, "Peace to All Freaks," was shared this morning. In a press release, Barnes calls the track a “protest song against totalitarianism, familial terrorism and wastefulness in all its forms." But, you know, in a fun way.
Barnes founded of Montreal in the mid-’90s in Athens, Georgia. A part of the influential Elephant Six collective, the group initially specialized in lo-ish-fi Indie Pop inspired by Pop Rock icons like The Beatles and Beach Boys. But Barnes began incorporating a variety of other Pop styles, culminating in the 2000s with a string of albums that showcased a more Prince-meets-Bowie Electro Pop flair — 2007's Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? is one of the best albums of the 21st century. The music also gained an increased theatricality that is also reflected in of Montreal's wildly entertaining live shows.
But instead of creating a world of new characters, UR FUN is described as a more direct and personal album. Inspired by his relationship with singer/songwriter Christina Schneider, Barnes recorded the entire album on his own. According to a press release, it includes nods to "the films of Italian horror filmmaker Mario Bava, queer novel Horse Crazy by Gary Indiana, Panamanian pop star El General, 80’s sci-fi movie Liquid Sky, Big Star’s cover of 'Femme Fatale,' French death metal group Death Throne, and the beautiful Brazilian love song 'Cucurucucu Paloma; by Caetano Veloso, to name just a few."
But, you know, in a fun way.
