Reprinted from The Daily Camera
by Greg Glasgow

In Of Montreal land, every day is a happy day, full of sunshine and balloons, friendly animals and rainbow-colored trees. The Athens, Ga.-based band is part of Elephant 6, the retro-pop collective that includes fellow Athens groups Olivia Tremor Control and Neutral Milk Hotel, as well as Denver pioneers the Apples in Stereo.

Taking a cue from psychedelic pop forefathers such as the Beach Boys and the Beatles, Of Montreal created a concept album, The Gay Parade, in 1999. The band's vocalist and songwriter, Kevin Barnes, came up with the idea while watching traffic. Recently heartbroken, Barnes transported himself to a happier place by imagining each passing car as a parade float with its own cast of characters.

Of Montreal is touring in support of the singles collection Horse & Elephant Eatery (No Elephants Allowed) - The band performs at Tulagi on Wednesday - but Barnes say he already has two new aibums ready to record: one an experimental effort, the other a pop record as whimsical as The Gay Parade.

We're trying to create and live inside of a fantasy world," says Barnes, 26, who works in a video store when he isn't fronting Of Montreal. "We developed it over a period of time. It really started with The Gay Parade (the group's third album), where we were trying to make things really colorful. That's when my brother got involved. He has great ideas."

Barnes' brother, David, created the detailed cover art that graces both Horse & Elephant Eatery and The Gay Parade - the elaborate fold-out book for the latter is a rnnaiature mural that depicts every character from every song on the album. David also designed the sets for a series of sketches that are part of the Of Montreal show, which features opening act the Marshmallow Coast, led by Of Montreal member - and Denver native - Andy Gonzales.

"We're going to try and make this show a little more theatrical," Barnes says. "Since the two bands share the same members, we thought it would be fun to do a little play between the two, an absurd little detective story."

Retro pop music, absurd detective plays, songs that feature music boxes and tin whistles and circus organs - all indicate that Of Montreal is refreshingly unconcerned with timeliness and hipness.

"We're definitely not very modern," Barnes says. "We're not really influenced by modern bands. Most of the bands in Athens, we're trying to create our own personal worlds to live inside of, to better our lives through art. It's not really our motivation to make records that people will like, we're doing it for ourselves. We're always delighted whenever other people like it."