The men o' Menomena. Photo by Alicia J. Rose.
Menomena
Sept. 20, Independent
By Michelle Broder Van Dyke
Menomena’s music is a serene reverie of looped and layered guitars, capricious drumming, intrusive saxophone sounds, and slightly offbeat lyrics contributed by all three members: Brent Knopf, Justin Harris, and Danny Seim. Tracks spiral out from their introductory piano chords and buoyant drum beats, creating increasingly complex rhythms only to switch erratically and fork off into an entirely different direction. Some tracks capture this effect more successfully than others, dragging the listener along with the 90-degree turns, yet somehow Menomena’s melodious and moody sound works on both their albums - they have three long-players to date - and in concert.
On stage, the band inevitably transforms the recorded songs, loosing some of the complicated and complex layers while still maintaining a playful energy with clapping and tambourines.
In the studio, the outfit's musical process begins with a computer program designed by Knopf called Deeler, which is short for Digital Looping Recorder. Drummer-vocalist Danny Seim creates the initial beat by playing a drum track. The three members take turns listening to the tempo and meter, improvising more patterns and melodies, and passing the microphone, while recording everything they play. Using the files like a jigsaw puzzle, they fit them together - duplicating some, rearranging the order, trimming pieces, layering parts, and creating an overall song structure. For the final recording, the music morphs again, as Menomena capture the magic created in the Deeler sessions but then performs the parts again, live.
The process keeps the band's sound fresh and clean, ensuring that no two songs sound the same. Performing at the Independent on Sept. 20, Menomena broke the fluidity of the musical phrases with energetic pauses in Seim’s drumming, mirroring the pausing process that occurs - often when switching songs - as Harris, positioned in the center of the stage, went from guitar to alto or baritone saxophone. Knopf moved from the keyboards to the xylophone, showing off an instrumental dexterity.
The show included the variety of songs from the band's catalog, though the focus was on Friend and Foe in addition to new material. They ended their set with "Evil Bee," a moody, poignant song with brooding, poetic lyrics to match: “I took a walk with an invisible friend / and on that walk, I gave my hand / Oh, to be a machine / Oh, to be wanted / To be useful.”
The band members harmonized or swiftly switched off on vocals in a coherent and complementary manner. The strategy tended to offset the group's modest singing skills, which tended not to matter much since lyrics were often sung through a filter of saxophone or ambient-noise guitar. Seim pounded away at the drums cathartically - his arms looked inhumanly long, and somehow he managed to sing as well. After "Evil Bee," the crowd at the Independent managed to get Menomena back for a one-song encore.
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