Finally some news on one of our favorite US indiepop bands.

It's been almost a year and a half since any new material from OF MONTREAL... which, for that band, is a bit of a record.

Here's what we HAVE known: Following the band's last release, "Aldhil's Arboretum," in January of 2002, Of Montreal parted with longtime label Kindercore Records. Talk during the tour was that they were planning a double album follow-up, featuring one record of uplifting pop, and another record of down-tempo, moody numbers. That tour was also the last to feature guitarist Andy Gonzales, who left the band in mid-2002 to return to school and focus on his own project, The Marshmallow Coast. In February of 2003, Of Montreal contributed their only new track of the year, "Sad Love," to Excellent Online's own "Flirt!" free mp3 compilation. About the same time, Of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes set off with his girlfriend and brother, playing low-key performance art gigs under the name A Pollinaire Rave. Finally, we learned that earlier this summer, Barnes tied the knot with his girlfriend Nina (formerly of cult Scando faves Ethnobabes.)

Japanese popkids Elekibass kick off their 11 date US tour tomorrow with a show in Tallahassee, Florida. After opening for Of Montreal on their first trip to the states a few years ago, this will be the first time the band headlines a tour over here (on tour with fellow Happy Happy Birthday To Me artists 63 Crayons). Elekibass' cross between "Sgt. Pepper" and the Archies is absolutely infectious during their live shows. You can find the band at Happy Happy Birthday To Me or at a venue near you.

KEVIN BARNES, the man at the helm of acclaimed Athens, GA popsters OF MONTREAL, is taking the month of February (and some of March) to do a solo trek through the States. Billing himself under the guise of "A Pollinair Rave," Barnes' solo tour will consist of "acoustic songs, a reading of a short story with a slide show accompaniment created by Lecithin E [aka Barnes' brother David, who collaborates on Of Montreal's concept albums and handles all of the band's album artwork], some modern rock 'n' roll, and a hell of a lot of slam poetry (just kidding.)" We'll get you the dates as they become more set in stone. Should be interesting.

However, in an online discussion board, Derek of Of Montreal made the following statement, "nothing's really changed actually. just re- cast and reformed. we're all still here churning it out, and we all still help each other. so..." Apparently the E6 stamp will no longer be printed on new material, but friends they were and friends they all still are. There will be a final E6 compilation due out sometime this fall.

After a news story or two about the end of Elephant 6 Recordings surfaced this week, the unofficial website has made a simple and pronounced statement, "Elephant 6 is not dead.". Enough said?

No, not really. Hilarie Sidney of Apples In Stereo did make a statement to Toronto's Eye Weekly that the Elephant 6 Collective has been laid to rest. "I think that's all over now. Everybody's still friends, but it got really confusing. Robert and I were sick of dealing with the record-label end of it and, honestly, we were just ready to move on, and I think everybody else was too."

Currently available for download on OF MONTREAL's official website is a free live album recorded live at the Eyedrum in Atlanta last April. Included in the live set are such highlights are Peacock Parasols, Sleeping in the Beetle Bug and Penelope.

OF MONTREAL are currently on tour.

While Kindercore keeps pushing around the release date of the new OF MONTREAL record, "Aldhil's Arboretum," the band have apparantly gotten sick of waiting and put the album for sale via Paypal through their website, www.ofmontreal.net. Go ahead, order it and see if Shane's crazy for proclaiming them the greatest band in America!

NOTE: The Of Montreal website linked above has been flooded with people ordering the new album. As a result, their site keeps jumping on and off-line due to bandwidth restrictions. If you go to the site and you get a message saying that it's temporarily down, just wait a few minutes and try again...

This just in from one of our favorite bands on the planet, OF MONTREAL:

One of our favorite American groups, OF MONTREAL, have snuck advance copies of their new album, "Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse," for sale on the KINDERCORE RECORDS website. The record, due for general release in mid-April, is available starting today exclusively through Kindercore's own online store.

OF MONTREAL have announced a short US tour to promote their new compilation, "Early 4 Track Recordings," out now on Kindercore. We've got the dates in our TOURS section...

So, we all know Britpop’s dead, right? Limp Bizkit and the Backstreet Boys rocked and popped their way all over the charts, effectively killing off the lackluster Britpop genre. And then… along comes salvation. And it’s a salvation that comes from, of all places, Athens, Georgia – the famed home of REM, and now the famed homebase for the critically lauded Elephant Six Collective, a loose grouping of friends and bands who live and breathe by pop hooks and funny noises. Though there are only a few bands who actually carry the Elephant Six imprint on their sleeves, some of the more interesting sounds to emerge of late are from the bands on the fringe of the E6 mini-culture. Among that lengthy list is Of Montreal. Owing more to the Kinks and Blur than to Sonic Youth or Dinosaur Jr., Of Montreal are helping to redefine the American indie soundscape. Purveyors of complex songs that sound simple, every track by the band is a mini-epic in itself. It’s pop with BRAINS, with a discography of character studies and concept albums aplenty. Excellent Online was able to conduct an exclusive phone/e-mail interview with Of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes, as the band was rehearsing for their June 2000 tour (and yes, you should go see them.)

Interview by Shane Brown