Of Montreal at Islington Assembly Hall

With album number thirteen, Aureate Gloom, released this month, you'd think we should have enough material to know what to expect from Of Montreal, and their dynamic, unpredictable and occasionally indecipherable frontman Kevin Barnes.
However, after a handful of disappointing years were checked by 2013's Lousy with Sylvianbriar, in which the Barnes's glam-funk undercurrent was married to, and tempered by, a satisfyingly Dylan-esque lyrical adroitness,
only two things are clear: first, a new release from the Georgia collective-cum-dictatorship is certainly something to be excited about, and second, we have no idea what to expect.
For eight years, Of Montreal were a band. For the next eight years, they were one man, as Barnes retreated into his own Sunlandic Studios to embark upon personal exploration after personal exploration, spattered with concept albums and outlandish alter egos. Whilst at its best, this process brought us anything between the easy rock of Coquet Coquette and the shuffling glam-funk of For Our Elegant Caste, such absolute introspection (save for occasional collaborations with the likes of Janelle Monae) has a limited shelf life.
Seemingly aware of this, 2013's LP took Barnes to San Francisco to open up OM's creative process to a close group of fellow musicians, and the result was impressive. For the forthcoming LP, after separating from his wife of 11 years, Barnes took a similar time-out in New York, channelling the mid to late 70s scene there - “Max’s Kansas City, early days of CBGB and Television, Talking Heads. Bands like that” - and to see the apparently limitless creative focus of he and his affiliates turned toward the likes of David Byrne and co. is an exciting prospect indeed. Catch them in Islington in April for a taste of their latest incarnation.