Though the band’s seventh studio album, 2004’s The Sunlandic Twins is often regarded as of Montreal’s real breakthrough moment, as the album’s 20th-anniversary approaches, Kevin Barnes, the band’s frontperson and songwriter, looks back at the release as a pivotal moment without being too nostalgic.
“I’m not really a nostalgic person in general,” Barnes tells PAPER, ahead of the re-release of the album, which includes new B-sides and deep cuts. “But I’m not really cynical, either, I can appreciate what a special time period it was for me. It was the beginning of my having any real career in music.”
Barnes, who now lives in Vermont with their partner, will be touring as of Montreal to support the album’s reissue alongside the east coast, kicking off in Carrboro, NC on March 21 and hitting cities like Brooklyn, Boston, Philadelphia and Asheville through March 29. Post-punk band cumgirl8 will support the tour at all nine stops.
“Now we get to sort of complete the narrative,” Barnes says of revisiting previously unused material from The Sunlandic Twins sessions. “You get to see the nuances of it, the deeper layers to it, and it becomes a richer tapestry.”
Before heading off on the 20th-anniversary tour, Barnes caught up with PAPER about getting ready to play old material, looking back on the last 20 years of their career, and making music in the current political climate.
Hey, how are you?
I’m good, I’m in Vermont right now. We live in the forest, it’s gorgeous.
Congrats on the re-release. How does it feel to revisit The Sunlandic Twins 20 years later?
It’s cool. I’m not really a nostalgic person in general. Maybe I haven’t reached that point in my life. But I’m not really cynical either, I can appreciate what a special time period it was for me. It was the beginning of my having any real career in music. We actually started playing shows to larger audiences, at that point, and we’d been struggling for six or seven years. I have really positive memories of that time, but it was also difficult, I was going through personal problems with depression, anxiety… I was a new father at the time. But overall, yes, a very positive time in my life, personally and professionally.
How did that enthusiastic reception feel at the time?
There were a few people in the band at that point who’d been with the band a long time with me. We’d gone through the lean years together, and it was cool that we got to experience success together, too. We all got to be rock stars for a second, to have the validation and all that goes with it. I remember pretty clearly — we were still driving ourselves in a van at that point — we finally graduated from sleeping on people’s floors to sleeping at Motel Sixes. It was still very DIY, indie rock, we didn’t have major label support. But now we were selling out in advance. Even driving up to the club and seeing a line of people waiting to get in was really cute and exciting.
What was it like putting together the B-sides and deep cuts for the re-release?
It was a lot of just looking at what we had available that could complete the picture. Now we get to complete the narrative — because there was much more than the 14 tracks on the record. Singles, EPs, live recordings from around that time. Not to compare us to the Beatles — but it’s like with the The Beatles Anthology. You get to see the nuances of it, the deeper layers to it, and it becomes a richer tapestry.
What’s it been like getting ready to tour this material?
We’ve played a lot of the album over the years, because it is a pretty live-friendly album. But some of the songs are weirder and harder to play, so we haven’t played them. It’s been cool trying to create arrangements for live settings on the ones we haven’t played. It’s like, Hello, old friend.
How did you link up with cumgirl8, who’s supporting you on the tour?
My fiancé turned me on to them. I think she just stumbled upon them through mutual friends. We really like them a lot, love their vibe, their theatrical side, love the music. It’s gonna be a really fun pairing.
Has your music-making process changed at all in the last 20 years?
The energy is still the same, as far as my excitement level. I made that record pretty much as a solo album, playing everything myself and building it up one instrument at a time. I’ve been keeping that process going at different levels ever since then. So it’s not really that different, as far as being alone in the studio and creating a world to inhabit for three and a half minutes.
We’re in a precipitous place right now when it comes to LGBTQ rights in the U.S. right now. Does that at all affect your work or how you think about your work?
I didn’t want to do the same thing I did during the last Trump administration, which was mainlining every possible stress that I could. Maybe it has something to do with being in the middle of nowhere in Vermont, it’s a bit easier to disconnect. I’ve realized I can only control what I can control. I’ll do as much to foster a safe and loving environment for loving people. I donate to charities to places like The Trevor Project and the Black Trans Advocacy Coalition. There are also a lot of local queer charities in Vermont that I support.
I have a more Buddhist attitude about all of it this time. They can’t legislate gayness out of reality. What I can do is create a safe environment for people to express themselves and feel free and accepted.
Do you have any other new music in the works?
Yeah, I have a new album I’ve been thinking about. I have six or seven songs. I also started teaching a writing and recording class at a small college here, and also at a high school in Massachusetts. It’s been fun connecting with younger people while I work on new stuff, giving them guidance and supporting their journeys.
How do you like teaching?
I just started, really, it’s only my second semester. The first semester I felt a bit like a charlatan, like, What am I doing here? I’m more comfortable with it now. I do think I have something to offer, because I’ve written tons of songs, and I know the ins and outs of indie music and the DIY mentality to creating art. It’s not like high-stakes academia or anything, I can just be myself, just be Kevin Barnes.
What other music has been inspiring you lately?
I’ve met a lot of local people here in Vermont and the surrounding areas that share the same vibe as far as bedroom recording and people who make music for the same reasons I make music. As a form of therapy, of escapism, a form of understanding yourself better and not really as a way to become famous or wealthy.
Photography: Shervin Lainez