The indie rock band whose 2007 album “Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?” features “The Past Is a Grotesque Animal” is of Montreal.
Released on January 7, 2007, the album is the eighth album by the American indie group of Montreal. Kevin Barnes wrote, performed, and recorded most of it, with help from friends, family members, and fellow Elephant Six-associated musicians. Barnes also produced the record.
“The Past Is a Grotesque Animal” is the seventh track and lasts nearly 12 minutes, making it one of the album’s defining pieces. It functions as a dramatic turning point in the album’s concept: Barnes’s persona transforms into Georgie Fruit, a glam-rock alter ego that continues into later releases.
A common mix-up is treating the song title as a separate release or assuming it belongs to a glam-rock band because of its theatrical sound. It is firmly part of of Montreal’s 2007 album, whose broader palette includes indie pop, art pop, glam rock, and experimental pop. The album reached number 72 on the Billboard 200.