of Montreal – “Already Dreaming”

Kevin Barnes, performing as of Montreal, released a new single, “Already Dreaming,” and a music video directed by his daughter Beatrice. He announced the album aethermead last month and previously released the single “When.”

“Already Dreaming” is presented as a melancholy, 1960s-inspired follow-up to the more aggressive “When.” Barnes says he wrote the song while still living in Vermont and that it relates to the end of an eight-year relationship.

“I wrote this song while still living in Vermont,” Barnes explains. “I can see now that it was a sad augury for the end of my 8 year relationship and the close of that important chapter of my life. As sad as the song is, it does point to new beginnings and the blind hopefulness inherent in ripping it up and starting again. Working with Beatrice on the music video was a dream. I loved watching her do her directorial thing. One of the main reasons I moved to NYC was to be closer to her and it felt really special to be able to collaborate on an art project together.”

“My vision for this music video was inspired by ’60s films and surrealist media. Listening to the song, I immediately saw a surrealist dream-like treatment centered around yearning and isolation in someone else’s presence. Stuck in a dilapidated house, an unhappy couple lives in conflict. One desperately fighting for the other’s attention while the other repels every effort.”

The video stages the couple in a dilapidated house. It cuts between close faces and wider interior shots. Actions register plainly: reaching hands, turned backs, moments of stillness amid scattered furniture. Those moments echo the song’s themes of ending and starting again.

aethermead is due June 5 via Polyvinyl.

Watch below.