| CD REVIEW Menomena |
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Band : Menomena This Portland (Oregon) based Experimental/ Indie Rock band was founded as a side-project of multi-instrumentalist/ singer Danny Seim's solo project Lackthereof in late 2000 when, upon his "release" from Dartmoor College, Brent Knopf went back home to Portland to join Seim and third man Justin Harris in a new musical project in which they would share singing duties and frequently exchange instruments during recordings. The guys did their debut gig in July 2001 and soon after signed to a San Francisco based booking agency, making their first US tour in 2004 in promotion of their album I Am The Fun Blame Monster (following several early demos, the band self-released the album in 2003, and it was then re-released in 2004 by the FILMguerrero label). By the way, see how clever these guys are? The title of their first album is a perfect anagram of "the first Menomena album"! Early in their career the guys managed to do tours with the likes of Gang Of Four, The National, and The Long Writers. Followed 2nd album Under An Hour (a 3-track instrumental album for and performed with Monster Squad, an experimental Portland based dance company)in November 2005, and the EP Wet And Rusting in 2006. In August of that same year the guys signed to the Barsuk label, but maintained friendly relations with their old label for the release of their older material and possible vinyl versions of future albums...which was at least the case with January 2007's Friend And Foe. To celebrate the release of that album Harris assembled a 25-piece choir (with members from other Portland bands/ artists including 31Knots, Nick Jaina, Pseudosix, Dat'r, Boy Eats Drum Machine, Corrina Repp, Ms. Murgatroid, prussia, several other of his close friends, and the band The Helio Sequence – a band the guys would fill a split 7-inch titled Pilgrim's Progress with under the name Heliomena), and had them learn all vocal parts with the aid of his mother (a trained opera singer) for a special release show in his hometown. The band has a weird way of recording their material in a "democratic" way, for which they use a computer program called Digital Looping Recorded, in short: Deeler, which was written by Knopf as a college assignment! The way it works is one of them will be holding the microphone, while another plays an instrument (they usually start with the drums, and once that's looped, they'll record all other instruments – guitar, bass, saxophone, piano...whatever it takes to make the song – each also taking his turn at the microphone. If it took more than 3 ½ years for the new album to arrive, it's that the band toured quite extensively for almost two years to promote their last album. In between, there would be moments when the trio came together to make new music...or rather recordings hundreds of little bits and pieces during jam sessions...and in an ideal world (as the guys put it themselves) a new album could've arrived as early as the fall of 2008, early 2009 at the latest! But apparently there was also quite a bit of arguing about how the pieces would be put together. With 3 perfectionists in one and the same band whom all have their own ideas, that's how things can sometimes go, I guess. Also, the guys got tired somewhat of each other during the relentless touring, and therefore took a break from each other for a while. On top of the musical disagreements, at least one of them (I found no specifications) also suffered a failed marriage. But in the end they got back together, constructed and deconstructed their songs, and the end result is certainly a powerhouse-weird collection of sometimes awkwardly assembled songs! Yesterday, I explained this band's music to a friend, taking the comparison of a bunch of related women making a family quilt: the patches brought in by each member of the assembling team can be quite different from each other, yet with a good "overseer" of the work, the individual patches will be expertly joined, to make for a harmonious whole. Speaking musically, it's as if short rows of notes were cut from the music page: it gives what's left a somewhat “hacked up” feel, but overall the song remains complete to those who have the ear for it! Due to the band's method of recording, you may come across a short bout of bass saxophone in one particular song, and not hear the instrument again unti you're a couple of songs further in the album! A truly wacky feel, disorientating at first, but ever-so-much fun on a second listening (well, by then you know what to expect, see?). Intensities of the songs, the prevalence of one instrument against the other, may vary from one track to the other (some are more oriented towards an underlaying “heavy” guitar, I other songs the piano takes the lead, etc, etc...), and with all three members alternatively taking the lead mike to sing while the others give him the backings, there's an added variety in that part of the overall music as too. A weird type of variety nevertheless, since all three voices are always present. Well, I'm not sure if that last message of mine came across clearly enough, so why don't you simply taste some of the band's music yourself, in stead of just reading about it? As far as the new album's material goes, you'll have to make due with the samples usually posted at the common online sales websites...but there's full-length songs off the band's previous material at myspace.com/menomena. Enjoy people, enjoy! And in case you like but cannot find the album itself available at your local record store, maybe you'll want to see the band in live conditions first? Can do, as the guys start off on a North-American tour in early September, one which will see the band (with additional musician Joe Haege from 31Knots as their guitarist) on the road in that part of the world until mid October. After a month's rest, the band jumps the Atlantic to tour Europe (they play Brussels' Botanique on Nov. 28, for more info on the European dates, check the band's website menomena.com, or the MySpace page). Meanwhile...have I got a choice but to add this to my year-lists...? I mean, I'm still in the stages where I'm trying to understand all the little things goin' on, and I'm already forced to move onto another review, you know! Heck, why not? Just as a preemptive strike, so to speak! 98/100 Tony. |
