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Hear Of Montreal’s Dark But Poppy ‘Dour Percentage’

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Kevin Barnes recently told Q Magazine that Of Montreal’s upcoming Paralytic Stalks (due February 7) is “darker and more personal,” but you might not know it from a cursory listen to its latest track to hit the web. Like previously unveiled seven-minute mind-fuck “Wintered Debts,” “Dour Percentage” (via Pitchfork) is all over the place, only this sub-five-minute ditty is, on the surface at least, pretty cheery — it bops along from fairytale woodwinds to ’70s sunshine-pop theatricality. Look a little bit closer, though, and it’s easy to trace the tracks of the narrator’s tears, from the song’s memorable use of the phrase “fuck-all” to the eloquently phrased reflections on how the characters “torment” and “torture” each other. It’s as if Barnes is adopting such a mannered, heavily stylized affect as a way of masking the darker, more personal demons lurking underneath. So when Of Montreal hit the road in several weeks, does this mean they’ll have to pack less glitter … or more?