Band of the Week

Menomena

Formed in Portland, OR in 2003, this trio is poised to be one of the hottest bands of 2007. This month they are releasing their third full length album "Friend & Foe", it is their first album on Barsuk Records. Brent Knopf (Guitar/Vocals/Programming), Danny Seim (Drums/Vocals), and Justin Harris (Sax/Bass/Vocals) provide a full digital rock sound that only be described as indie-rock-downtempo-hip-hop-jazz-pop. The vocals sound similar to TV on the Radio, but more subdued.

Their claim to fame is that the majority of their songs are recorded using a digital loop recorder (DLR or deeler). The process involves recording short instrumental riffs from each individual over a period of time into the deeler and then editing together these little loops at a later time. It is after this that the vocals are added to form the Menomena song. The results of this process give the music an electronic feel, and add some many interesting dimension to their sound. When you listen to their music you can hear all the different loops that they pull from the deeler, and almost see them swirl and blend together with the intelligent lyrics.

Wet and Rusting (live)

Friend & Foe comes out on 1/23/07 on Barsuk Records

Songs:

Muscle n' Flo (mp3)

Wet & Rusting (mp3)

Boyscount'n (mp3)

The Pelican (mp3)
To stream the entire album go here.