Solar Power

Of Montreal's intricate pop revels in the dark side of the sun

A A A Comments (0) By MICHELE LAUDIG Thursday, Feb 16 2006

"Norway affected me deeply — like a profound, devastating effect on me. I was totally messed up emotionally."

Not one to waste this uncomfortable source of creative inspiration, Barnes wrote another album's worth of songs, which he is eager to record. He says his time in Europe messed him up but gave him lots of new ideas.

Things can be more gloomy than sunny when you're Of Montreal

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"Now I can laugh about it, but at the time it was really difficult. But it was kind of good too, because it shook me up emotionally. You know how you get sort of stagnant if you're comfortable in your environment — I said comfortable as if it was this negative thing — but you're so comfortable in your environment and things get dull and you stop paying attention?" he asks. "I was like, 'Oh my God, I'm feeling things that I'm not used to feeling!' I'm just used to sort of being kind of like a bland man. Like, nothing attracts me, nothing hurts me, nothing brings me joy — I'm just on this steady level of mediocrity or something. So being out there was like, 'This is insane! People are insane! This is a crazy world!'"

Chances are, the next Of Montreal album will be anything but sunny.