Of Montreal, Lady on the Cusp Credit: Courtesy

(Polyvinyl, CD, digital, vinyl)

Imagine what groups like indie-rock band Of Montreal have endured. Breaking out in the Athens, Ga., scene with their 1997 debut LP, Cherry Peel, Of Montreal arrived just before the iPod revolution. They weathered the subsequent, inevitable slide into streaming services becoming the music industry’s dominant force.

Helmed by bandleader and only constant member Kevin Barnes, the group has been incomprehensibly prolific through that turbulent period, delivering LP after LP of off-kilter art pop for more than 25 years. The industry may have changed, but their output has been consistent. The only year not to see a new Of Montreal LP, EP, compilation or single since Cherry Peel was 2023.

How the fuck is that possible, especially considering the strangeness and complexity of their music, which bleeds over into their performances? The first time I saw Of Montreal live, nearly 15 years into their career, their show included people dressed from head to toe in pig costumes crowd-surfing in an inflatable raft, not to mention Barnes majestically riding a gigantic Chinese dragon puppet. It was as thrilling as it was bizarre.

Now a resident of Marlboro, Vt., Barnes is constantly transforming his sound, from the early twee-pop years to the squelching, avant-garde electro-R&B heard on Lady on the Cusp, Of Montreal’s 19th studio album. And maybe that’s why they’ve endured. Barnes is clearly not afraid to try new things and be his weird-ass self.

He always has a lot to say, and he says it with a debonair affectation, steeping his cryptic phrases in equal measures of melancholy and jubilation. For example, on the tectonically unstable opener, “Music Hurts the Head,” Barnes muses, “Rock and roll is dead / That’s why it’s cool.” The song itself bears little resemblance to rock and roll with its whiplash beats, crush of electronic noise and surges of airy vox synth.

He takes that energy and drops it in the garbage disposal with the cheeky slow jam “2 Depressed 2 Fuck,” a grinding, Zoloft-dampened nightmare full of waning libidos. It eventually reaches a syrupy bounce that feels deliberately at odds with its deeply unsexy titular phrase.

Not surprisingly, things immediately take a left turn with “Rude Girl on Rotation,” a rambling, guitar-centric tune whose breezy, picked strings match the similarly serene drums propelling it forward. It recalls the wandering spirit of modern rock troubadours Steve Gunn and Amen Dunes.

Barnes often layers his vocals in psychedelic harmonies, waffling in and out of dissonance and tunefulness. His voice meanders through hissy cymbals and crackling snare rims on “I Can Read Smoke.” One of the most bewildering tracks, it follows Barnes’ through line of disparate vibes: violence and death (“You cut my throat / There’s dance in my blood”) juxtaposed with urbane witticisms (“Encouraging belief is vulgarity / Mean-spirited air quotes to wit”).

Lady on the Cusp is the final album Barnes recorded in Athens before his move to Vermont. The culmination of a hugely significant period in the artist’s life, it also proves he still has a lot to say and create.

Lady on the Cusp is available at ofmontreal.bandcamp.com and on all major streaming services.

This article appears in Jun 5-11, 2024.

Jordan Adams joined Seven Days as music editor in 2016. In 2021, he became an arts and culture staff writer. He's won awards from the Vermont Press Association and the New England Newspaper and Press Association. In 2022, he became a freelance contributor.