Kevin Barnes’ project marks 30 years with shaggy, homespun reflection. The year 2026 marks a number of significant milestones for Kevin Barnes’ of Montreal project. Alongside the release of the band’s 20th album, Aethermead, Barnes is celebrating 30 years of the band and 20 years of their career-defining opus Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?. But on Aethermead, Barnes looks forward. The album tells the story of Barnes reemerging, back in New York City after a relationship forced them away from the Vermont wilderness and back to a place that is in many ways the opposite. Aethermead brims with this energy, from the rollicking psych-pop of opener “Already Dreaming” to the trippy harmonies of “Listen to Music and Cry.” The album is shaggy and homespun, a direct reflection of Barnes’ mindset as they work through the monumental transitions that have occurred in the years leading up to Aethermead. Throughout the changes, though, the bandleader’s deliriously inventive style is on full display, tying together feelings of joy, grief, sorrow, loneliness, and excitement. Like all of Montreal albums, these feelings not only co-exist, but directly interact with one another.