of Montreal open Aethermead like a psychedelic diary with glitter in the margins

of Montreal’s aethermead arrives on 5 June via Polyvinyl, and by now Kevin Barnes has earned the right to treat every album like another wing added to an already impossible house. The project has always thrived on mutation: psychedelic pop, indie rock, glam, funk, diary-like confession, absurdist theatre and emotional mess all competing for space under the same roof. aethermead continues that tradition with a title that sounds like something brewed in a mythological garden and probably served at the wrong party. The pleasure of of Montreal is that even when the records are colourful, the emotional weather underneath is rarely simple. Barnes can make a melody sparkle while the lyric quietly disassembles the furniture. That contrast remains the project’s strange power. aethermead is not just another entry in a long catalogue. It is another reminder that maximalist indie pop can still be deeply personal.

Source: https://ofmontreal.bandcamp.com/album/aethermead