The Sunlandic Twins is the seventh album by indie pop

Indie pop

Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...

 band Of Montreal

Of Montreal

Of Montreal is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontman Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance with a woman "of Montreal." The band is one of the bands of the Elephant 6 collective...

. The album continues further into the more electronic territory first explored on 2004's Satanic Panic in the Attic

Satanic Panic in the Attic

Satanic Panic in the Attic is the sixth album released by the band Of Montreal. The album, like later albums The Sunlandic Twins and Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?, was made almost entirely by Kevin Barnes....

. It was recorded almost entirely by Kevin Barnes

Kevin Barnes

Kevin L. Barnes is the singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter for the indie rock group Of Montreal, part of the Elephant 6 Collective. Barnes started the band on his own and, although providing several stories as to the origin of the name, is said to have named it after a failed romance...

, the band's singer and songwriter, in Athens, GA and Oslo

Oslo

Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...

, Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 throughout 2004.

Background

Initial pressings of the album contained a bonus EP featuring four new tracks. One of them, "Keep Sending Me Black Fireworks," features Kevin's wife Nina on vocals, while "Art Snob Solutions" features the same instrumental track as the earlier "Will You Let Me into Your Dream". The double vinyl edition of the album included an additional bonus track, "Family Nouveau". The title of "So Begins Our Alabee" refers to the couple's daughter, Alabee Barnes, who is also the partial subject of "Family Nouveau", along with Nina.

"Wraith Pinned to the Mist (And Other Games)" was featured as a re-recorded jingle in a television commercial for Outback Steakhouse

Outback Steakhouse

Outback Steakhouse is an American casual dining restaurant chain based in Tampa, Florida with over 1200 locations in 22 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It was founded in February 1988 in Tampa by Bob Basham, Chris T...

, with altered lyrics. This caused a slight uproar among fans, "The Party's Crashing Us" Director by Divya Srinivasan (new video) although Kevin Barnes claimed the income would go towards the band's next tour. "Wraith Pinned to the Mist (And Other Games)" was also featured in Matt Reeves 2008 monster flick entitled "Cloverfield". "Everyday Feels Like Sunday", from the bonus EP, was featured on a NASDAQ

NASDAQ

The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...

 commercial.

As with the previous six albums, David Barnes

David Barnes (artist)

David Barnes is an artist, performer, and comedian best known for being the art director for his brother Kevin's indie pop band, of Montreal...

, Kevin's brother, created all the artwork for The Sunlandic Twins, including the album cover and an etching on the B-side of the vinyl edition.

Videos were made for "Requiem for O.M.M.2", "So Begins Our Alabee", and "Wraith Pinned to the Mist (and Other Games)", "The Party's Crashing Us".

Track listing

1. "Requiem for O.M.M.2" – 2:19
2. "I Was Never Young" – 3:30
3. "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games" – 4:15
4. "Forecast Fascist Future" – 4:22
5. "So Begins Our Alabee" – 4:15
6. "Our Spring Is Sweet Not Fleeting" – 1:02
7. "The Party's Crashing Us" – 4:53
8. "Knight Rider" – 1:06
9. "I Was a Landscape in Your Dream" – 3:05
10. "Death of a Shade of a Hue" – 2:54
11. "Oslo in the Summertime" – 3:21
12. "October Is Eternal" – 3:58
13. "The Repudiated Immortals" – 2:18

Bonus EP

1. "Art Snob Solutions" – 3:24
2. "The Actor's Opprobrium" – 2:36
3. "Keep Sending Me Black Fireworks" – 3:29
4. "Everyday Feels Like Sunday" – 3:19
5. "Family Nouveau" (vinyl only)