Of Montreal- Aethermead

Label: Polyvinyl

Released 6/5/2026

Aethermead, the newest offering and 20th full-length album from Of Montreal, finds the band revisiting sounds from their early years, while still pushing artistic boundaries with their iconic style of pop & indie rock. Celebrated for their unique and prolific output, frontperson and primary songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Kevin Barnes recorded the album at Brooklyn's Honey Jar studios with audio engineer, Drew Vandenberg (Faye Webster, Toro y Moi), with basic tracking done live to a 16-track tape machine with Barnes' longtime live band. "I wanted to capture a quick moment together and to make on-the-fly, spontaneous creative decisions," says Barnes. "It felt very liberating and exhilarating to have to start and finish an album in a month's time." The result shimmers with indie pop elements of their 2004 release, Satanic Panic in the Attic, as well as the raw, live energy of 2013's Lousy With Sylvianbriar. Inspired partly from a recent move to Brooklyn, NY and a yearning for community, the album marks a shift in Barnes' daily routines, with the album's title referencing a section of Prospect Park called the Nethermead, where Barnes walks their dog every day.

Track listing:

1. Already Dreaming
2. Wanting on Air
3. Listen to Music and Cry
4. My Zhe Zhe
5. Take the Form
6. When
7. Hack it Up
8. Lacan in the Family
9. Having a Moment
10. From the Font of You
11. To Nothing’s Reward
12. Now We Cringe at the Thought
13. Dismissal Mosaics