Of Montreal will release Aethermead, the follow-up to 2024's Lady on the Cusp, on June 5 via Polyvinyl. The band has shared a visualizer for the new single 'When' by David Barnes. Frontman Kevin Barnes created the album after a personal breakup and a move to Brooklyn.
Of Montreal has revealed details of its forthcoming album, Aethermead. The record, due out June 5 on Polyvinyl, succeeds 2024's Lady on the Cusp. A visualizer for the lead single 'When,' directed by David Barnes, accompanies the announcement. Barnes recorded the album in Brooklyn with engineer Drew Vandenberg and live band members Clayton Rychlik, Jojo Glidwell, and Ross Brand. In a press release, Barnes explained the album's origins: a breakup and relocation from Vermont to New York. “I’ve always had a romantic fascination with New York, but for forever I couldn’t figure out how to make it work,” he said. “The timing was perfect this time around.” Barnes described 'When' as a track rooted in deeper emotions rather than its surface-level themes. “'When' is more a song about yearning, sadness, confusion, frustration... than it is a song about having sex,” he noted. He elaborated on masking emotional needs with sexual bravado, preferring blunt phrases over vulnerability. The band recently announced a North American tour spanning much of the summer. Last year, Of Montreal reissued its 2005 album The Sunlandic Twins to mark its 20th anniversary.