Fret not, lonely hearts of Tucson, your valentine will be Of Montreal.
That's according to guitarist Bryan Poole.
Poole was in San Francisco, eating a plate of extra-spicy Thai food and catching a rare moment of solitude.
Time looks to be speeding up for the psych-rock band from Athens, Ga. The group recently released its latest album — "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?" — to solid reviews and the No. 72 spot on the Billboard chart, just above Bob Seger.
"That's the most mind-blowing thing," Poole said. "Christina Aguilera has an album in the top 100 — we're in there with her. We're just an indie band. That's crazy."
Poole, 35, said the group will likely make use of the Rialto Theatre's big stage and do something special for the show on Valentine's Day.
People are also reading…
Of Montreal is known for its theatrical productions that incorporate eclectic costume changes and arty, interpretive skits.
"It's a fine line between something that is cool and surreal and probably stupid-looking," Poole said. "Hopefully, we're on the right side of that line."
On the band's new dance focus: Already one of the strongest albums of the band's decade-long career, "Hissing Fauna" is dance-oriented like the band's last album, 2005's "The Sunlandic Twins."
Most of the group's deep back catalog consists of dreamy, psychedelic pop straight off a scratchy record from the '60s you might score from an acid-head.
For a while, principal songwriter and singer Kevin Barnes didn't really listen to much music made after 1972, Poole said.
"Kevin, bless his heart, finally opened up his ears to listen to other music. And got excited."
On the choice to play the Rialto over Club Congress, where the band played previously: "Hotel Congress — we love that place.
"It was kind of a really hard decision for us not to play there versus going to the Rialto. The thing was, it was just at Club Congress, for the all-ages thing, they put that weird net in the club. . . . We just wish that club was maybe a bit bigger.
"But we love Hotel Congress. . . . You get to stay in this crazy Old West hotel where the hotel clerk is totally out of a freakin' movie."
On the record industry and getting bigger: "It's so weird, the machine, the industry, it's kind of the devil you mate with to survive," he said.
Part of the struggle coming up is knowing who to trust when you begin getting fawned over by people in the business, he said.
On that steakhouse commercial: The band has taken some flak for lending its music for an Outback Steakhouse television commercial.
Talking to Poole, you get the feeling the band truly regrets the decision to let the eatery tweak "Wraith Pinned to the Mist (And Other Games)" and sell food with it.
"I feel bad personally, just because there are a lot of people who like that song, and for them, it's ruined," he said.
Indie bands sell their music for commercials all the time, of course. Jack White from the White Stripes even penned a song just for Coca-Cola.
Still, Poole called the Outback decision "a learning lesson."
What: Of Montreal, with Ariel Pink, DJ Matt McCoy.
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Where: Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St.
Cost: $12 in advance, $13 day of show. All ages.
Info: Go to rialtotheatre.com.
To hear more, visit myspace.com/ ofmontreal.
