The ever-prolific Kevin Barnes is back with a new of Montreal album, the curiously titled lousy with sylvianbriar. Right off the bat, it begs the questions: Who is sylvianbriar and why is he/she lousy? The first song, "fugitive air," isn't much help but it does provide some clues as to where Barnes is at these days. Instead of the  never-ending '70s disco vibe he's cultivated over the last decade, there's more of a '60s garage-rock, psychedelic sound in the vein of Bowie or more recently, Deerhunter. And this is no accident. According to his label Polyvinyl and a statement from Barnes, he wanted to revisit his roots and connecting with bands like Bob Dylan and Neil Young. "I wanted to work fast and to maintain a high level of spontaneity and immediacy," he said. "I wanted the songs to be more lyric driven, and for the instrumental arrangements to be understated and uncluttered." In doing so, he nailed it on "fugitive air."

lousy with sylvianbriar is out October 2 on Polyvinyl and is the follow-up to 2012's Paralytic Stalks and the rarities compilation, Daughter of Clouds, which Hive premiered here. There are no current tour dates soon, but expect a slew of them soon, because he's a touring machine. Stream "fugitive air" below: