Gay Parade

Of Montreal includes: Kevin Barnes (vocals, guitar, lap guitar, banjo, piano, keyboards, bass, drums, bells); Derek Almstead (vocals, guitars, bass, drums); Jamey Huggins (vocals, drums, percussion); Julian Kester (vocals, saw); Bryan Helium (vocals); Andrew Rieger (spoken vocals); John Fernandes (violin, background vocals); Heather MacIntosh (cello); Dottie Alexander (clarinet, keyboards, background vocals); Scott Spillane (horns); Pete Erchick (piano); A. C. Forrester (melodica, lap guitar, penny whistle, bass, bass drum, toy piano, car horn); Josh McKay (vibraphone); Rob Carter (upright bass); Jeremy Barnes (drums, background vocals); Laura Hetsler, Jeremy Ayers, Hank Wren, John Dazze, Laura Glenn (background vocals).
Recorded from September 1997 to October 1998.
From the idiosyncratic Elephant 6 pop collective that includes Olivia Tremor Control, Apples In Stereo and Neutral Milk Hotel comes the similarly inclined Of Montreal. Like their aforementioned pals, Of Montreal favors the '60s pop sounds pioneered by the Beach Boys, Beatles, Kinks, etc. With a healthy dose of light-hearted humor and breathlessly catchy songs that display a gift for melody, THE GAY PARADE is a pop tour de force.
Giddy high harmonies, effervescent organ and piano and oddities like musical saw and pennywhistle will undoubtedly steer the listener toward that most overused (but in this case unavoidable) of adjectives, "quirky." The elaborate, skewed psychedelia of the arrangements (which also successfully incorporate strings and horns) is the perfect complement to these loopy pop gems.