of Montreal has announced their new album Lady On The Cusp due out May 17 on Polyvinyl Record Co (Julia Jacklin, Momma). The new collection is not only a rapturous synthesis of most everything of Montreal has ever done but also Barnes’ final transmission from Athens, as they’re now a fresh Southern expatriate delighted to be living among the snowy peaks and progressive politics of southern Vermont.

Lady On The Cusp was written and recorded in the months when Barnes and partner, musician Christina Schneider, prepared them to move. The tracs are described as song suite—funny and sad, sexy and brooding, playful and serious. All of this perfectly coils together for the infectious lead single “Yung Hearts Bleed Free” released today alongside an official video. The Bootsy Collins-influenced, self-deprecating ode to Barnes’ heroes—“sex maniacs” and “drug-addled creeps,”—indulges in freedom and fetish. It is candid, too, about the doubts and shortcomings of any life lived fully.

Barnes explains that the song was, “Influenced by the Leos Carax film “Boy Meets Girl”, Bootsy’s Rubber Band, and my recent purchase of a Yamaha TG33 and a Kawai K1M. I wanted to make a strutting, sexy little vamp of a song that just kind of chugged along and felt relaxed and playful and free.”

Director Madeline Babuka Black shares, “There’s a certain 60’s/ experimental spirit to Barnes’ songwriting that I love and by using analog techniques of paper cut out and direct on film animation I pay homage to that. The paper cut out animations and color palette of the film were deeply inspired by Larry Jordan’s experimental animations, most notably his 1968 film “Our Lady of the Sphere.”

Of Montreal
Lady On The Cusp
tracklisting:

1. Music Hurts the Head
2. 2 Depressed 2 Fuck
3. Rude Girl on Rotation
4. Yung Hearts Bleed Free
5. Soporific Cell
6. I Can Read Smoke
7. PI$$ PI$$
8. Sea Mines That Mr Gone
9. Poetry Surf
10. Genius in the Wind

Of Montreal 2024 Tour Dates

5/31: Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre #
6/01: Chattanooga, TN @ Barrelhouse Ballroom #
6/03: Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts #
6/04: Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere #
6/05: Boston, MA @ The Sinclair #
6/06: Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom #
6/07: Rochester, NY @ Water Street Music Hall #
6/08: Detroit, MI @ The Magic Stick #
6/09: Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall #
6/10: St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall #
6/11: Wichita, KS @ Wave (Indoor) # %
6/12: Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre # %
6/14: Jackson Hole, WY @ Center For The Arts %
6/15: Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Hall %
6/16: Seattle, WA @ Neumos %
6/17: Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom %
6/18: Eugene, OR @ WOW Hall %
6/19: Roseville, CA @ Goldfield Trading Post %
6/20: Berkeley, CA @ UC Theatre %
6/21: Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Theater %
6/22: Phoenix, AZ @ The Crescent Ballroom %
6/23: Albuquerque, NM @ Sister %
6/25: Austin, TX @ Mohawk %
6/26: Dallas, TX @ Trees %
6/27: Springfield, MO @ The Regency Live %
6/28: Nashville, TN @ The Exit In %
6/29: Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse %
6/30: Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle %
7/01: Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club %
7/02: Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle %

# w/ Godcaster
% w/ Tele Novella

Pre-order Lady On The Cusp by Of Montreal HERE