Albums
Aethermead
2026
Release Date: 2026
By Pitchfork
Reviewed June 8, 2026
Kevin Barnes’ 20th album is, once again, inspired by a breakup, but the drab music lacks the personality and vision of their best work.
For 30 years now, Of Montreal has functioned less as a band and more as a vehicle for exploring Kevin Barnes’ emotional whims. Between shifting lineups, a problematic alter ego, and plenty of glam makeup, they have tried out stripped-down twee, the funk heights of Prince, festival-ready synth-pop, and EDM sirens. Barnes chronicled the impasses in their first marriage across multiple albums: 2007’s high-water-mark Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? took a kaleidoscopic approach to an early separation, while 2015’s somber Aureate Gloom arrived after the couple’s permanent split. No matter what style Barnes is toying with, their antenna perks up when relationships start to fray. You hear them singing about infatuation? Just be ready for the other shoe to drop.