of Montreal's Kevin Barnes is one of the most prolific songwriters of his generation. Rarely does a day go by when Barnes can't be found in the studio he built at his Athens, GA home. Whether experimenting with recording techniques or exploring new directions with his musical output, Barnes is constantly working to expand his horizons.

And it shows.

Equally as impressive as the number of songs of Montreal has released is the breadth of genres they span. It is beyond a doubt that the band has never released the same record twice -- and the band's new rarities collection is no exception.

Daughter of Cloud compiles 17 of Montreal recordings ranging from the Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? era to the present. Ten of the album's songs are previously unreleased, while the other seven were originally issued on limited edition, rare or out-print CDs and 7"s.

Rather than arranging the songs chronologically, Barnes carefully sequenced the tracks on Daughter of Cloud to give the listener the same feeling they would receive upon hearing a brand new album.

As a result, you're never quite sure what to expect from one song to the next, but you can always be sure it will sound like nothing you've heard before.