Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re well aware that Athens’ favorite theatrical freaks, of Montreal, have been hard at work on their new album, False Priest. We’ve heard lots of details about the album as it’s progressed, and now we’re happy to report that the album has release date, a tracklist, and some truly out of this world cover art. Polyvinyl will release False Priest September 14 in North America, and as usual, a day earlier in Europe.
Jon Brion co-produced the album with frontman Kevin Barnes and it features guest appearances from genre spanning “it” girls Janelle Monáe and Solange Knowles. Barnes recorded an initial version of the album at his own Apollinaire Rave studio in Athens, Georgia, then re-recorded, mixed, and engineered it with Brion at Ocean Way Recording in Los Angeles. The album’s song titles are even more “of Montreal-ish” than before – if that’s even possible: “Godly Intersex”, “Sex Karma”, “You Do Mutilate?”.
You can download lead single “Coquet Coquette” from the band’s polyvinyl website, and the LP is also available for pre-order. The beautiful other-worldly album art comes from Apollinaire Rave’s David Barnes (Kevin’s brother) and Gemini Tactics (Kevin’s wife, Nina Barnes).
According to a recent Pitchfork interview, Barnes describes the new album as having a “thick R&B influence”: “There’s a lot of very dancey, very funky songs… We try to have these ‘holy fuck’ moments where you’re really having your mind blown, especially if you’re listening to it on headphones.”
The band has a few shows mapped out. You can see the dates, as well as the album’s tracklist, below.
False Pries Track Listing:
01 I Feel Ya’ Strutter
02 Our Riotous Defects [ft. Janelle Monáe]
03 Coquet Coquette
04 Godly Intersex
05 Enemy Gene [ft. Janelle Monáe]
06 Hydra Fancies
07 Like a Tourist
08 Sex Karma [ft. Solange Knowles]
09 Girl Named Hello
10 Famine Affair
11 Casualty of You
12 Around the Way
13 You Do Mutilate?
Of Montreal:
07-25 Jackson, MI – Land of Nod Experiment
07-30 Montreal, Quebec – Osheaga Festival
07-31 Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
08-01 Asheville, NC – Orange Peel
08-07 Lake Worth, FL – Bryan Park (Lake Worth-It) (Kevin Barnes solo)
I was privy to a private listen to this album, and let me tell you that “Coquet Coquette” is NOT the best track on this one, though I do enjoy it and it’s wacky ass video. “Girl Named Hello” is the jam. The whole album is fantastic, though.
Great album, and the cover too,