Athens’ indie-pop legends of Montreal have released their critically acclaimed new album Freewave Lucifer f<ck f^ck f>ck via Polyvinyl Record Co. The band has shared the final psychedelic-pop single “Nightsift” alongside a video. Kevin Barnes (he/she/they) describes the new release as, “Paranoia/isolation/self-terror/terror-self, the failure spectacle, the take down, sex as a means of identity denial, the kaleidoscopic world of regret and shame, the liberation of mockery, adolescent nightmares reborn and reimagined, torture echolocation with non-eventual silence”.

Barnesdrew inspiration for the new collection from various forms of media: great fictions such as Clive Barker’s Imajica, Andrei Tarkovsky’s sci-fi classic Solaris, and Godard’s Alphaville, fantasy author Ursula K. Le Guin, realist painter Edward Hopper, cinéaste Pedro Almodovar and more. The record came to life during a period when the flow of time was difficult to grasp for folks across the globe, leading Barnesto find commonality with the plotlines that emerge when creators f<ck with how we experience time and space. Isolation and uncertainty also loomed throughout the genesis of Freewave Lucifer f<ck f^ck f>ck. Contemplating how time functions in music and experimenting accordingly, the new songs are dense with ideas but short on repetition, feel epic in scope despite reasonable running times. 

The expansive selections contrast markedly with the focused pop of 2020’s UR FUN, which was crafted for visceral thrills and the concert stage. of Montreal is thrilled to embark on an extensive North American tour this fall.

Photo Courtesy: Christina Schneider