Posted on April 19, 2007
With one part Radiohead, one part Modest Mouse and one part all their own, Menomena manages to create a work rich in sound, voice and emotion. In Friend or Foe, the newest Menomena album, the band shows marked improvement over their previous two albums I Am the Fun Blame Monster (an anagram of “The First Menomena Album”) and Under an Hour, released in 2003 and 2005 respectively.
Menomena (pronounced “Meh-nah-mah-nah”), consists of Brent Knopf (keyboard, guitar), Justin Harris (guitar, saxophone) and Danny Seim (drums), who seem to have matured with their newest album, putting aside their youthful jubilance and moving on to heavier subjects. While the songs may deal with more somber themes than in the past, they certainly don’t lack the instrumental energy that has become synonymous with Menomena.
Much like a sudden question startles a daydreamer out of a fantasy, so do the unexpected crashing of drums yank the floating, airy vocals of Menomena’s songs back down to earth. With drumbeats and guitar licks that seem to spring from nowhere, Menomena is able to change the pace of a song quickly from solemn to fast-paced and then back again just as easily. In doing so, Friend or Foe often times feel like a roller coaster of sounds and emotions, building and rising with instrumental layers only to come plummeting down in a rush of riffs and drum kicks.
The album begins with a bang as the lead song, “Muscle’n Flo,” immediately starts with a forcible drum intro that morphs into various guitars and the lyrics “There’s so much more left to do/ well I’m not young, but I’m not through.” With these words, Menomena reveals signs of the maturation process the band has undergone, along with the deep introspection that predominates throughout the rest of the album.
Friend or Foe then flexes its musical muscles, with the next few songs being some of the album’s best. The most notable being “The Pelican,” a catchy, guitar heavy song that you can’t help but tap your feet to and “Wet and Rusting,” a more light-hearted ditty whose lyrics aren’t as pretty as the song lets on.
The second half of the album takes a more meditative turn than the first. The almost dreamlike songs are full of rhetorical questions and darker themes, tackling issues such as death, loss and finding one’s purpose in life. The incendiary guitar riffs from the album’s first half are mellowed here and coupled with saxophones, adding a shadowy, otherworldly quality to the already deep, metaphorical lyrics. The album ends on a very enigmatic note with a dark, ominous piano petering out, leaving the listener with only their thoughts on the meaning of the past few songs.
In Friend or Foe, Menomena manages to craft an excellent album by balancing both introspective thoughts and ideas with catchy, mesmerizing music. But you don’t have to take my word for it; with a name like Menomena, it has to be good.
