Listen To Paralytic Stalks on nme.com

Much chin-scratching at this one : NME claims that Paralytic Stalks is exclusively streaming on their website. They seem super excited, because it's one week before its release date. Funny when you know it's been up on spin.com since last Wednesday. Someone needs to inform these guys that borders are irrelevant on the web... Anyway, it comes with a little bit of interview (more to come later, I assume) and a picture from Coachella 2007 (?!?!), so you can still head over to nme.com to read it.

Stool Pigeon interview

Many thanks to Edittrix for sharing this great British article with us. This is what you need to read if you want to learn the difference between an of Montreal record and frosted flakes, the outcome of the vengeful Pitchfork blog post from last year or whether Paralytic Stalks "comes from a darker place" than Hissing Fauna.

Spin feature

Spin Magazine got Kevin to talk about each song on Paralytic Stalks. You'll see that there are songs that are not about what you think they were about, and I know someone who will be thrilled to know that Dour Percentage might actually be about Jamey.
This piece is quite fascinating as it is as close as we'll ever get to the creative process. Let Kevin walk you through the album. It will definitely enhance your listening experience and for those who still have doubts, it might even help you fall in love with Paralytic Stalks.


An interview in Spanish was also posted on Chilango today, but I'm going to need a volunteer translator for this one if I'm ever to make sense of it (it doesn't seem like it's got any kind of revelation, but if there was one I might not pick up on it).
Arts & Craft in Mexico will also be hosting a listening party / online chat with Kevin on Friday. RSVP on facebook.

Yip Deceiver Get Strict video

MTV Hive posted the official video for Get Strict yesterday. Most of us who have witnessed of Montreal shows last spring will be familiar with the song, so it seems like a pretty good choice for a single. Yip Deceiver's 12" is still available from Aerobic International. Check out their website for more information.

Yip Deceiver
Get More:
Yip Deceiver, MTV Hive

For fans abroad who can't watch this video due to copyright issues, you can watch it on vimeo, the password is yip.

Rough Trade In-Store Online Chat

Attention London fans!
The venerable Rough Trade Store is having a Paralytic Stalks listening party and online google chat with Kevin Barnes on Saturday, February 4th. Head over there for all relevant information here.

Other news today, Pop'Stache wrote a pretty interesting essay/article about David Bowie's use of alter-egos and Kevin's as a companion piece to their positive review of Paralytic Stalks.

of Montreal's presence on the internet

It's been a pretty eventful start of the year for the band, who have found themselves on the most-blogged about artists of the day for days and days in a row.
It has been pretty hard to keep up with all the information, and for lack of time, I have mostly been using twitter and facebook to share all this non-essential stuff, but I feel it is time for a recap for all of you who only ever check the blog.


Let's start with the music.
1. Kishi Bashi's 151a will be released on Joyful Noise Recordings on April 10th, but if I remember rightly, those of us who kickstarted his project should be getting it sometime in March. In the meantime, head over to Spin to download the first single off this album. Apparently you can't pre-order the record right now, but I'll keep you posted.
2. Remember a few years (months?) ago when Kevin Barnes said he'd written a song for Beyoncé? Well, Chicago-based mashup artist(s) The Hood Internet gave it a shot and mixed Beyoncé's supposedly famous song (help a sister out if you know which song it is!) with St. Exquisite's Confessions. As it turns out, it actually sounds pretty good to my ears. Give it a virtual spin!

The Hood Internet - Exquisite Party (Beyonce x Of Montreal) by hoodinternet

3. of Montreal will perform Dour Percentage on Fallon on February 8th. Don't miss it.

Now on to the written word.
1. Kevin made the list of 10 musicians who should write novels according to Flavorwire. Now of course, they're preaching to the converted here, but feel free to peruse the rest of the list and either or rejoice or lament.

2. Author Alex Gilvarry name-dropped Suffer For Fashion when asked what songs he was listening to when he wrote his debut novel, "From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant." He has quite a few kind words to say about Kevin, too. Head over to the excellent literary/music blog Largehearted Boy to read the article.

And now for all the weird stuff out there...
1. Judging by its name, Reviewer Magazine should be all about reviews... Well, their review of Paralytic Stalks is... part biography, part rambling about how much the guy loves the band, but hey, it's very positive, so who's complaining? I'm not. Read this page-long biography of sorts there.

2. But this non-review is nothing compared to Kevin Barnes's astrological chart and enneagram type(s). Yes, it is types, plural, because apparently there is a debate there to figure out if he is ENTP or ENFJ. One thing we can all agree on is that of Montreal is popular with psychology students.

Dour Percentage and European tour dates

After the 7-minute epic Wintered Debts that was shared with fans back in November, of Montreal has decided to release Dour Percentage as the first single off Paralytic Stalks. Pitchfork has the goods. A more conventional song (by of Montreal standards, anyway), it should be somewhat less confusing for the people who favor Hissing Fauna and False Priest over, say, Coquelicot and Skeletal Lamping. Unfortunately, the track doesn't come with a video, and it apparently won't be released as a single either. I'll wait until the tour starts and you start sending in reports of how elaborate it is, but there seems to be interesting budget choices being made in the oM camp these days.



Pitchfork also posted the European (+ Turkey and Israel) tour dates :

04-16 Helsinki, Finland - Tavastia
04-17 Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller
04-18 Arhus, Denmark - Train
04-19 Cologne, Germany - Werkstatt
04-20 Rotterdam, Netherlands - Motel Mozaique Festival @Off_Corso
04-21 Bruxelles, Belgium - Orangerie
04-22 Manchester, England - Ritz
04-23 Leeds, England - The Irish Centre
04-25 London, England - Koko
04-26 Brighton, England - Concorde 2
04-27 Paris, France - Trianon
04-28 Nantes, France - Stereolux
04-29 Barcelona, Spain - Apolo
04-30 Madrid, Spain - Joy Eslava
05-02 Nice, France - Theatre Lino Ventura
05-03 Rome, Italy - Circolo degli artisti
05-04 Milan, Italy - Magnolia
05-07 Tel Aviv, Israel - Barby Club
05-09 Istanbul, Turkey - Babylon

Q Magazine Q&A with Kevin Barnes

Here's a great interview that should keep you psyched about the new record (and the next one) and tour.