In 2007, Of Montreal made what will probably go down as the best album of their career in which Kevin Barnes channeled his feelings of isolation and depression from his failing marriage into an indie pop masterpiece, Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer. I doubt anyone expected such a bizarre, abstract, kaleidoscopic follow-up album. Although structure on last year’s Skeletal Lamping is basically non-existent, Barnes crams more hooks into the album then should be humanly possible and I love that out of all the crazy experimentation there came one of band’s best, most accessible pop songs in “an Eludardian Instance.”
Opening with a delightful trumpet fanfare, the song has Kevin viewing his “memory reel in reverse”. He focuses his nostalgic efforts on the summer when he and his wife first met (their “last summer as independents”). The whimisical music is matched perfectly by playful and occasionally touching lyrics about his early experiences with his wife, from plotting midnight raids on the Swedish plum trees to teasing mountain goats. Meanwhile the song twists and turns from bouncy to psychedelic to glam-funk with Barnes’ falsetto and his bittersweet lyrics tying everything together. It all comes together to make a massively entertaining and euphoric song.
The music video matches the song’s joyous, celebratory nature with stop-motion images of a couple living it up in the summertime flying kites, collecting sea shells, and wearing ridiculous-looking sunglasses. The whimsical images match the of Montreal’s tune beautifully. Also, if you think this song could use some more ukelele, check out the Jon Brion remix of “an Eludardian Instance”. Enjoy!
