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Fueled By A Legion Of New Fans, Kevin Barnes & Of Montreal
Are Leaping New Hurdles And Aiming For Evolution
Editor's Note: Last week, Part I of this story covered the tumultuous creative
process behind Of Montreal’s new album. Missed out? No worries: it’s avail
able at www.flagpole.com.
t's not enough to make a sprawling, deeply personal dance
pop album, as Kevin Barnes did with Hissing Fauna, Are You
the Destroyer?. You've got to put it out in the public arena.
And the only way to follow up an album like 2005's Sunlandic
Twins—the album that pushed Of Montreal further into the na
tional spotlight and sold more copies than all eight of the band's
previous albums combined—is to do even better.
According to John Fernandes, the stalwart Elephant 6 multi-in
strumentalist who also clerks at Wuxtry Records downtown, Hissing
Fauna is selling "really, really, really well. Just as many copies as
any national band," he says.
And it's not just Athens whipping out its collective pocketbook
to support the home team; the album has made national waves.
According to Matt Lunsford, co-president of the band's label
Poiyvinyl Record Co., Hissing Fauna sold more than 30,000 cop
ies in the first six weeks of its release. When it came out in late
January, the album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard independent
charts—that week it sold more copies in America than any other
non-major-label-affiliated album except for The Shins' Wincing the
Night Away.
The album also spent three weeks on the Billboard Top 200
chart, peaking at No. 71 when placed in a national context. Sure,
26 FLAGPOLE.COM-MARCH 21,2007
sales of major-label albums are down across the board, and maybe
this is all a little nerdy music-industry stuff, but what's the last
independent Athens band that made a ripple in terms of national
sales?
•"I think it just comes down to the songs, really," says Bryan
Poole, a longtime Of Montreal collaborator and currently the bass
ist for the touring version of the band. "They're just connecting
with people everywhere." The band has sold out almost every show
on its current tour, and has had to add additional dates in large
cities to accommodate demand.
A complete digital version of Hissing Fauna was leaked to the
Internet in fall of 2006, and though it was a source of serious con
cern for the band, its record label and its publicity company, these
strong sales seem to show there's more to a band's songs than the
click of a mouse.
"I think it led to a longer 'anticipation period' for the record,"
says Lunsford. "People were listening to it four months early, but
we don't believe that it has affected sales. It certainly got people
talking about the record really early. By the time January 23 came
around, everyone knew to look for it!"
Anecdotal evidence suggests that labels may have less to fear
from leaked albums—at least as long as the quality of the music
and its packaging are compelling enough in the first place to in
spire purchases. "I love Cherry Peel, I love them all," says David
Aquino, an 18-year-old fan from Tucson, AZ, who mentions Of
Montreal's debut album from 1997. "It's a goal of mine to track
down all the CDs in physical form. It's one of those bands you
don't just wanna download off iTunes, you want the art and such,
you know?" Aquino says he's only known about Of Montreal for a
year—he stumbled across the Kangaroo Alliance-created video for
the 2005 song "Wraith Pinned to the Mist (and Other Games)"—
but has since then immersed himself in the band's back catalog, as
have other recent fans.
T een fans like Aquino may shed light on Of Montreal's contin
ued and evolving success. "There's a ton of kids at our shows
now," says Poole. "Used to be, like, people our age at our shows,
and that's about it, but not anymore."
"I've been a fan of Of Montreal for a couple years," says Kane
Graves, a 17-year-old from North Carolina who recently posted
comments on Of Montreal's MySpace page. "Their music's extreme
uniqueness is probably what turns me on to them the most.
Hissing Fauna has been playing in my car for over a month since
I found a leaked copy on the Internet. I loved the album and the
band so much that I bought the record when it came out... I was
first introduced to them by a friend, but I didn't really get into
them because I was skeptical of their name. It was a few months
later that, in my obsession with Elephant 6 music, I picked them
up again. My favorite album would have to be Coquelicot Asleep In
The Poppies."
"It is my opinion that Kevin Barnes is the new Ziggy Stardust,"
says Jessica Hakal?, an 18-year-old Minnesotan who hoped to
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