Of Montreal

Of Montreal, like an indie rock answer to David Bowie, has helped a whole generation of self-serious sad sacks loosen up and embrace the weird. With an unmatched prolificacy and a shape-shifting sound, the Athens, Georgia-based outfit, led by the fucking unstoppable Kevin Barnes, has become one of the most beloved acts in the indie-sphere over the course of 15 LPs and 23 years. For the uninitiated, there’s literally no easy way to describe Of Montreal’s sound because, over time, the band has ranged from plaintive indie songwriting to jangly folk, from dystopian disco to haughty and angular rock, from rollicking rural ruckus to big-city synthetic sounds — all with an experimental, off-kilter sensibility and a decidedly psych-pop bent. While Of Montreal released its most recent album, the 1980s-dance-channeling White Is Relic/Irrealis Mood, a year ago, the band is best experienced in the live setting, where its knack for spontaneity and invention gets room to roam.