Twenty Years Ago, ‘The Sunlandic Twins' Changed Everything for Of Montreal
'I remember talking to our booking agent and being like, 'Maybe I need to quit music and try to get some other kind of job,'' Barnes, now 50, recalls. 'And he was like, 'Don't do that. You have all this momentum going. You just need to ride this a little bit longer and see if something magical can happen.' So luckily, I took his advice.'
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The album that Barnes was working on at the time, The Sunlandic Twins, proved just magical enough to make good on that booking agent's optimism. Filled with elastic melodies, dizzy DIY disco, and starry-eyed romance, it connected with fans in a way that no Of Montreal album had done before it.
Twenty years after its release in April 2005, The Sunlandic Twins is a richly nostalgic listen for anyone who remembers those days. To those in the know, this album is a certified indie classic that's right up there with any other sacred texts of groove and liberation from that decade.
Next month, on March 14, Polyvinyl Records is crashing right back into the blog-era party with a deluxe digital reissue package. The Sunlandic Twins (20th Anniversary Edition) will feature a remastered version of the original album; a disc of B-sides from that era; another disc of covers and remixes by acts like Grizzly Bear and IQU; and a full Of Montreal concert from Norfolk, Virginia in 2006. (There's also a 2-LP vinyl version with lots of cool art.) A week later, on March 20, Of Montreal will launch a North American tour playing the album in full.
Barnes sounds a little bemused at this milestone when I reach them over Zoom. 'For me, it kind of feels like 2,000 years ago,' they say. 'I've gone through so many different phases and lived so many different lives since then. It's hard to even think of that person as being me.'
The Sunlandic Twins first came together as a sequel of sorts to 2004's Satanic Panic in the Attic, where Barnes had introduced tighter rhythms and a newly swaggering attitude. For their next project as Of Montreal, they were ready to go even further, writing and recording hummable highlights like 'Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games,' 'Oslo in the Summertime,' 'I Was Never Young,' and 'The Party's Crashing Us' — actual pop songs that felt worlds away from the high-concept psychedelic records that they'd made in their early years as part of the Elephant 6 scene.
'I was able to unlock some part of me that is interested in that catchy, funky, playful kind of music,' Barnes says. 'And I guess it was just good fortune that people at that time period wanted that sort of thing.'
Much of the upbeat, excitable energy on The Sunlandic Twins came from the singer's then-recent marriage to Nina Barnes (née Grøttland), a visual artist from Norway. It was a happy time, overall, despite those concerns about the band's future. 'I was kind of freaking out, thinking about what I was going to do to support this small family,' Kevin says. 'We didn't have any health insurance, we didn't have any money.'
But Nina did have a Norwegian passport, so that fall, she returned home while Kevin stayed in Georgia to finish the album. As soon as the LP was done, Kevin joined her for the birth of their daughter, Alabee, on December 29, 2004. 'Once I turned in the final mixes, I flew to Norway,' they say.
The Sunlandic Twins arrived the next spring, with cover art by Kevin's brother David Barnes that showed the couple in a surreal sunrise landscape. 'I would call her my twin, which I didn't realize is kind of a toxic thing,' Kevin says now. 'You're not supposed to do that with your partner. You have to let your partner be themself, and you have to be yourself. But at the time, I didn't know.'
Over the next year or two, Of Montreal went on tour to promote The Sunlandic Twins, growing their fanbase by leaps and bounds — and putting new stress on the marriage. 'Nina was at home trying to raise the kid mostly by herself because I was touring all the time,' Barnes says. 'That created so many problems for our relationship.'
To make matters worse, Barnes was dealing with some serious mental health challenges, including major depression and anxiety that sent them spiraling as the band finally took off. 'All these exciting things were happening — our shows were selling out in advance, and there was a line of people out the door to see us — but at the same time, I was feeling suicidal and insane,' they say. 'Like, 'I should be happy. This is fucking incredible. All my dreams are coming true. But my brain is melting and I can't function.''
Eventually, Barnes saw a therapist for the first time and got on antidepressants, which helped. With their mental health in better shape, the Sunlandic Twins tour allowed them to begin exploring new ideas about gender and sexuality through playful, theatrical live performances. 'Up to that point, I hadn't done a lot of gender-bending,' Barnes says. 'Sunlandic Twins lent itself to that a lot more. The sexier aspect to the music helped me discover parts of my inner self and understand who I am in ways that maybe I wouldn't have otherwise.' (Years later, in 2020, Barnes publicly came out as non-binary and genderqueer.)
Listening to The Sunlandic Twins now, you can hear how Of Montreal fit into a newly expressive moment for indie rock, a time when bands were getting more interested in making you dance. 'I've heard the term indie sleaze kicked around a bit,' Barnes muses. 'At the time, it was just a thing that was happening in the moment, so it didn't have a name. But with the benefit of some space, you can see, 'Oh yeah, we actually had more in common with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs or LCD Soundsystem.''
In 2023, Barnes moved to Vermont with their partner, Christina Schneider, after many years spent living in the South. 'It reminds me a little bit of Athens, Georgia back in the day,' they say. 'Just a lot of really amazing, really talented writers, songwriters, musicians…. There's obviously ignorant, racist people in Vermont as well, but the vibe in general is way more progressive. I think that I would be fully bugging out if I was still in Georgia.'
The singer says they're on good terms these days with Nina, though their marriage ended years ago. 'We went through a pretty long rocky period, but now we're in a really good place,' they say. 'There's no resentment. I feel very happy that I met her and that I have a child with her, and she gave me so much and inspired me so much.' Alabee, who recently turned 20, is in film school: 'She's constantly creating these cool screenplays that she'll share with me.'
Barnes has continued reinventing Of Montreal over the last two decades, steadily releasing new albums that subvert expectations, most recently 2024's Lady on the Cusp. As our conversation winds down, they mention that they've been building out a home studio in Vermont to work on their next project. 'I've got six or seven songs for that,' Barnes says. 'I never made a freak-folk record, but I'm leaning in that direction a bit now.'
March 20 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt ClubMarch 21 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat's CradleMarch 22 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club % March 23 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel % March 24 – Portsmouth, NH @ 3S Artspace % March 25 – Boston, MA @ Royale % March 26 – Norwalk, CT @ District Music Hall % March 27 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts % March 28 – Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry March 29 – Asheville, NC @ The Grey EagleJuly 15 – New Orleans, LA @ The Howlin Wolf #July 16 – Austin, TX @ Radio/East #July 18 – Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole #July 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Belasco # July 20 – Berkeley, CA @ UC Theatre #July 21 – Bend, OR @ Volcanic Theatre Pub #July 22 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos #July 23 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom #July 24 – Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Hall #July 26 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre #July 27 – Kansas City, MO @ recordBar #July 28 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line #July 29 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall #July 30 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom #July 31 – Grand Rapids, MI @ The Pyramid Scheme #Aug. 1 – Cincinnati, OH @ Woodward Theatre #Aug. 2 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn #% = with cumgirl8# = with Bijoux Cone
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