Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse is the fourth full-length 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...

, released in 2001 by Kindercore Records

Kindercore Records

Kindercore Records is an independent record label based in Athens, Georgia, which was founded in 1996 by Ryan Lewis and Daniel Geller to document the emerging music scene in Athens, Georgia....

. Considered one of their most ambitious works, the record is more of a full band recording than previous of Montreal albums.

The majority of the songs on the album tell bizarre stories about invented characters. "The Events Leading Up to the Collapse of Detective Dulllight" is a spoken word track. As a whole, the album is a loose concept album

Concept album

In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...

.

Coquelicot

Coquelicot

Coquelicot or coquelico is a French vernacular name for the wild corn poppy, Papaver rhoeas. The flower is distinguished by its bright red colour, and orange tint. It eventually passed into English usage as the name of a colour based upon that of the flower. The first recorded use of this usage...

 is pronounced KOHK-lee-koh and is a French vernacular name for the corn poppy

Corn poppy

Papaver rhoeas is a species of flowering plant in the poppy family, Papaveraceae...

, the flower commonly associated with Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth...

 in the Commonwealth countries.

Background

In an interview to the American zine ZUM, frontman 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...

 said: "Coquelicot

Coquelicot

Coquelicot or coquelico is a French vernacular name for the wild corn poppy, Papaver rhoeas. The flower is distinguished by its bright red colour, and orange tint. It eventually passed into English usage as the name of a colour based upon that of the flower. The first recorded use of this usage...

 is an Efeblum. An Efeblum is a fairy-like creature who is employed by the Efeneties (loving spirit

Spirit

The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...

s) to place bells

Bell (instrument)

A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...

 inside people's hearts. When a person has a bell in their heart they are able to create works of art, fall in love and feel at peace with the world. Coquelicot, during one of her trips to Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

, decides to discard her bells and experience life as a human. Instead of living in "reality

Reality

In philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible...

" she decides to experience life in a sleeping unconscious/conscious state. It is in this subconscious world that she meets Claude and Lecithin the inventor. They do all sorts of crazy stuff together like having incredible battles with evergreens and satellites, getting chased by psychotic zombies, playing with Lecithin's inventions and eventually moving away together to a deserted frozen island

Island

An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

. In time, Coquelicot feels remorseful about neglecting her responsibilities as an Efeblum and decides to return to her work. She can't bear the thought of leaving her two new best friends so she invites them to come along with her. They happily [accept] and join her as honorary Efeblums."

Track listing

1. "Good Morning Mr. Edminton" – 2:45
2. "Peacock Parasols" – 2:54
3. "Look at the Bell (Andy Instructs the Turkish Moths to Acquire Him More Bells or Else...)" – 1:43
4. "An Introduction for Isabell" – 3:49
5. "Let's Do Everything for the First Time Forever" – 2:38
6. "Coquelicot's Tea Party" – 0:43
7. "Rose Robert" – 2:26
8. "It's a Very Starry Night" – 3:50
9. "Mimi Merlot" – 2:57
10. "Butterscotching Mr. Lynn" – 1:38
11. "Coquelicot, Claude and Lecithin Dance Aboard the Ocean Liner" – 1:03
12. "Go Call You Mine" – 1:29
13. "The Events Leading Up to the Collapse of Detective Dulllight" – 2:41
14. "Penelope" – 2:53
15. "A Dreamy Day of Dreaming of You" – 2:01
16. "Hello from Inside a Shell (Zombies Enter the Harbor)" – 3:37
17. "Lecithin's Tale of a DNA Experiment That Went Horribly Awry" – 3:14
18. "It's Just So" – 2:37
19. "The Frozen Island" – 3:58
20. "Upon Settling on the Frozen Island, Lecithin Presents Claude and Coquelicot With His Animal Creations for Them to Approve or Reject (The Rejected Inventions Walk Towards the Reverse Magnetizer)" – 1:07
21. "Let's Go for a Walk (Coquelicot Leaves the Frozen Island to Resume Her Work as an Efeblum With Claude and Lecithin in Tow)" – 2:11
22. "The Hopeless Opus or The Great Battle of the Unfriendly Ridiculous" – 17:54

See also

• SUMonline Interviews (2000); of Montreal, by Jeremy Crown