Einstein Music Journal

Menomena

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Intense layers of vocal melodies crooning and swooning laid down over repetitive musical loops (apparently built on custom software!) are the meticulous details etched on Menomena’s hardened catalogue. Their magical majestic pop songs are not your typical C4 fare, however there’s was the medium that first made me really take notice of Menomena’s unique storytelling nature.

The video for Wet And Rusting is a wonderous subconscious adventure, trawling through the philosophy that inspires, explains and justifies the band, not that they need any justification. With organ donation checklist and calls for Kanye West to produce the next album, the vid is a veritable parodic heaven. Primary blueprints are pointed at with sticks and suddenly they're bursting, Alice in Wonderland style, down the rabbit hole to an abysmal urban landscape, via a backyard playhouse. Throughout the absurdist excursion, the band's dying wishes are presented, scribbled straight onto the screen. "Send my casket to the top of Big Ben," one asks. "Send my casket to Westminster Abbey," says another. "Send my casket into space".

Trampoline cars are fuelled by the band jumping on them, and Neon-ite speech bubbles placed over their heads serve to illicit a sense of comic irony in the plot. Commonly about death, their suave soiree is reminiscent of the Unicorns’ morbid sense of humour. The nasal twinge will also remind of that, too.

This video seems to perfectly illustrate the fantasyland that Menomena’s music would inhabit, if it were static. Fortunately it’s not, though. Ever changing and moving, the layers of sound and noise are a testament to their constant exploration, both literally and figuratively, through sound and metaphor. And their peculiar structures and Battles-esque rhythmic stronghold are relentless. Menomena’s is a five star album, beg borrow or steal Friend And Foe.

posted by Sarah Gooding @ 4:23 pm