Friend and Foe
Following through on the potential of their outstanding debut, I Am the Fun Blame Monster, Portland, Ore.-based Menomena craft beautifully arranged modular pop out of improvised loops, creating the first great indie rock record of the new year.
In spite of its painstaking construction, Menomena's debut, I Am The Fun Blame Monster!, felt kind of flippant, as if the band put more elbow grease into building melodies than prying open its own soul. That wasn't a bad thing, though: Blame Monster was moody enough without getting tripped up in heartstrings. But on…
Though Menomena often peg themselves as an experimental band, and to some extent very much are an experimental band -- they create most of their songs using a homemade computer program that loops their instrumental riffs until they come up with something whole -- especially in the rhythm section, where the bass and drums play off one another intricately, blending punk- and funk-inspired beats with more straightforward rock emphases, they also have a delicate sense of melody and composition that balances these heavier underpinnings and makes the band rather poppy at times.
Menomena emerged in 2003 with a scattershot smattering of almost everything that could go right with indie rock.