Interview: Kevin Barnes (of Montreal)

With time, the albums that shaped your youth begin celebrating significant anniversaries. It’s a humbling reminder of a distant past — one that might make you feel old if the ache in your back hadn’t already taken care of that. And sure, feeling old sucks. But on the bright side, those albums will start seeing reissues packed with bonus tracks, plus tours where the artist plays all of those songs that you’ve built decades of attachments to. 

This year, The Sunlandic Twins, of Montreal’s landmark album, turns 20. By the time of its release in 2005, Kevin Barnes had already dropped six albums and played a key role in the Athens, Ga.-based Elephant Six collective. It’s rare for an artist to make a seismic creative leap so far along into their career, but Barnes did just that with 2004’s Satanic Panic in the Attic. That album marked of Montreal’s transition into being more of a Barnes solo project, and with that pivot came the injection of more electronics into the sound.

Although the acclaimed Satanic Panic in the Attic was the album that signaled the shift, its followup built upon that magic. In an era when New York’s post-punk and Montreal’s indie rock scenes dominated the blogosphere, the funky, synth-heavy, psychedelic pop of “Reqiuem for O.M.M.2” and “So Begins Our Alabee” shined just as brightly, foreshadowing the future stardom of MGMT and Animal Collective.

The 20th Anniversary edition of The Sunlandic Twins — loaded with b-sides, unreleased tracks, remixes, and live versions — was released earlier this month. As part of its celebratory tour, Barnes & Co. will return to The Grey Eagle on Saturday, March 29, to bring these songs back to life on stage — many for the first time in decades. Every of Montreal concert is a wildly entertaining event, but for fans like myself who’ve had this record in rotation for two decades, this show will be extra special.

Asheville Stages recently caught up with Barnes to discuss the album’s legacy and his return to town.

Jonny Leather: The Sunlandic Twins turns 20 this year, and you’re celebrating with a full-album tour. While Satanic Panic in the Attic marked a major shift in your sound, many view The Sunlandic Twins as your breakout moment. How do you see its role in your career trajectory? Did it feel like a turning point at the time?

Kevin Barnes: At the time, it just felt like an organic new development for us. I was experimenting more and more with electronic music after SPITA and it was a lot of fun to sort of learn how to program drums and use DAWs [Digital Audio Workstations] while composing new music.

JL: Looking back at the use of the re-recorded jingle rendition of "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games" for an Outback Steakhouse commercial, how have your feelings about that usage changed in the time since. Are you more or less open to similar sync licensing deals at this stage in your career?

KB: I think that sort of thing has become way more acceptable, but at that time it was kind of seen as "selling out." I definitely see both sides of the argument. On one hand, it adds a layer of corporate sleaze to a song to use it in a commercial. But that sort of thing is also one of the few ways that indie artists can generate income from their music. In an ideal society, no one would have to whore out their art to earn a living. We don't live in an ideal society. though. Far from it.

JL: Revisiting The Sunlandic Twins after 20 years must be an interesting experience. Are there any songs you hadn’t played in years that have taken on a new energy for you?

KB: Yeah. We haven't played “Death of a Shade of a Hue” or “Repudiated Immortals” or “Landscape in Your Dream” or the little musical segues very often. It's been a lot of fun to try to reproduce those ones along with some of the others that haven't been included in our more recent live shows.  

JL: Around the time you were making The Sunlandic Twins, you were living in Oslo, and your daughter was born between the recording and release. [Author’s note: “So Begins Our Alabee” has long been a personal favorite.] How did those personal changes shape the themes and overall sound of the album?

KB: The dramatic changes in my personal life definitely had a profound influence on the songs I was writing then. My state of mind was a mixture of terror and excitement. I think of Sunlandic Twins as Book One in my Bildungsroman that ended around Innocence Reaches.

JL: The 20th Anniversary edition of The Sunlandic Twins includes a trove of bonus tracks, including some previously unreleased material. How does it feel to share older archival songs with the world compared to releasing new music that you're more recently connected to?

KB: It's a very different experience because it doesn't feel quite as personal. So much time has passed between then and now, and I feel like a very different person now. It was fun compiling those tracks, though, and reliving some of the moments that led me to create those songs.

JL: Will you be working some of those songs into sets on this tour as well?

KB: No spoilers!  

IF YOU GO

Who: of Montreal with Wagging
When: Saturday, March 29, 8 p.m.
Where: Grey Eagle Music Hall, 185 Clingman Ave., thegreyeagle.com
Tickets: Sold Out

(Photo by Shervin Lainez)