of Montreal Live at Flamingo Cantina Performing The Sunlandic Twins Under the Radar Party SXSW

The good folks at Under the Radar magazine scored a major coup for the last day of their day party this year at SXSW. of Montreal headlined performing the entirety of arguably their best album, The Sundlandic Twins. The band stormed through track-by-track starting with “Requiem for O.M.M.2” and then slayed with the three-song succession of “I Was Never Young,” “Wraith Pinned to the Mist (And Other Games)” and “Forecast Fascist Future.” The chorus on “Wraith” had the entire crowd dancing happily (“Let’s pretend we don’t exist / Let’s pretend we’re in Antarctica”) while the bridge on “Forecast Fascist Future” (“May we never go go / mental / may we always stay stay / gentle”) absolutely brought the house down. Other highlights included the ecstatic dance fever of “The Party’s Crashing Us” and the chant-inducing “Oslo in the Summertime.” The completion on “October is Eternal” transitioning into “The Repudiated Immortals” is a heart-warming conclusion to the album (“But there’s still beauty / I’ll take care of you if you take care of me”). Without interruption, the album is a stellar monument to the unheralded indie genres of the last twenty years. Kevin Barnes and his current live of Montreal band nailed the fluid chemistry, wild-eyed optimism and innocent joy that make the album a modern classic.