by Mary Dolan

Episode 287: of Montreal

“Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games”

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Kevin Barnes started of Montreal in 1996 in Athens, Georgia. The Sunlandic Twins came out in 2005; it was their seventh album. And I remember when that album came out, how it felt like they were suddenly everywhere. And the breakout song from that breakout album was “Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games.” And so, for this episode, I spoke to Kevin Barnes about how that song came together, and what it meant to them then, and what it means to them now.

You can buy or stream “Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Satanic Panic in the Attic – of Montreal’s 2004 album
Reason software, Cubase software
Prince and Duran Duran
Bryan Poole – former of Montreal band member
Ray Davies and The Kinks
Edward Gorey, Tristan and Isolde, Oedipus
Afrobeat and Fela Kuti
Pointillism

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by Mary Dolan

Key Change: Sophie Thatcher

“Waltz #1” by Elliott Smith

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My first guest is Sophie Thatcher, an actor and musician whose credits include starring in the TV show Yellowjackets, the film Heretic, and the new movie Companion. I met Sophie through Companion, because I composed the score to the film, and she contributes vocals to a few of the tracks I wrote. For this episode, we discussed how “Waltz #1” by Elliott Smith shaped Sophie’s tastes and work.

You can buy or stream “Waltz #1” here.

footnotes:
“Iris’s Theme” – Hrishikesh Hirway
“Ballad of Big Nothing” – Elliott Smith
Radiohead
The Smashing Pumpkins
Either Or – Kierkegaard
OK Computer – Radiohead
Meisner technique
“It’s a Wonderful Life” – Sparklehorse
Pan’s Labyrinth
Rosemary’s Baby
Neutral Milk Hotel
Elephant 6

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by Mary Dolan

Episode 286: Yola

“Symphony”

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Yola is a singer/songwriter and actress. She released her solo debut album in 2019, which was nominated for 4 Grammys, including Best New Artist and Best Americana Album, and Rolling Stone named it one of the best country albums of the year. But the thing is, Yola’s music career wasn’t new, and her background wasn’t in country music. She’s from Bristol in the UK, and starting back in the early 2000s, she was a vocalist recording tracks for DJs and electronic music producers. And so, in January 2025, Yola put out an EP called My Way. And as you’ll hear her explain in this episode, a lot of her new music is motivated by wanting to assert her identity beyond the Americana and country music boundaries. In addition to her music, she’s also acting – she played Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the 2022 film Elvis, and she starred on Broadway in the musical Hadestown. For this episode, I talked to Yola about her song “Symphony,” along with co-writer and co-producer Sean Douglas. Yola and Sean trace the journey of the song “Symphony,” and, along with it, Yola traces her own journey, too.

You can buy or stream “Symphony” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
The PRVLG – collaborators
Zach Skelton – co-producer
Howard Artis – drummer
Divinity Roxx – bassist
Broken beat
Bugz in the Attic
Shania Twain
Dolly Parton
Hip Hop 50
Parliament-Funkadelic
Rhodes piano
Gold-Diggers
James Brown

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