Album Review: Menomena "Mines"

         Menomena, "Mines" (Barsurk, 2010)

    After a seemingly endless three-year wait, Menomena has finally commended fans with a new album that delivers the musical peculiarities and energy of previous records but also expands past the band's lyrical parameters. Although "Mines" sounds less experimental compared to its other albums, by no means is it commercial. The unexpected layering of the rhythmic guitar and energetic drums with a multitude of disparate synth beats and sounds, and the abrupt appearance of the saxophone in every-other song, together with the overall intense and grand moments suddenly cut by juxtaposing instances of bright simplicity continue to be present, but in a much more considerate way.
    This new approach is immediately established by the album's cover art. Two of band's members are visual artists so the album art has always been an integral part of the music. Past albums have employed the cover art as an alternate method to visually translate the playfulness and fantastical element of their songs. Their first album, "I Am the Fun Blame Monster," came complete with a hand-made flip book and the second, "Friend or Foe" includes an intricately designed jacket that changes configurations depending on the position of the CD within the case. "Mines" maintains the element of playfulness but this time taking a more subtle approach. While the cover and the back form a stereogram that's supposed to produce a 3D image,  inside there's only a simple illustrated poster. The face of the CD itself is stark white giving the impression that this was a mindful decision meant to keep the listener from being distracted from the complexities of the music.
    Menomena continues to produce its signature collaging of synth sounds through "Deeler," the software they specifically developed to capture their intricate recording process. Well into their third production, the band proves that their recording methodology goes beyond the novelty of the technology. Here, the band exploits the software to produce complex musical arrangements that harmoniously blend contrasting beats and sounds fitting them together like puzzle pieces. "Killemall," begins with a piano crescendo accompanied by an insistent rhythmic shaker and the characteristically quick, short and intense drum kicks of Danny Seim. The paced buildup is intersected by a few synth beats that intensify the urgency of the song then suddenly, a light piano appears and the song quickly decays, fading into the background for a moment as the vocals begin only to be quickly build up again. The song goes on continuously building up but each time being brought down by a new sound or by pops of the organ. Other songs such as,"Sleeping Beauty" and "Lunchmeat" thrive in a vast sea of bleeps and sounds. The songs are so musically nuanced that every time you give the album a listen you discover a new sound hiding between every nook and cranny.
    The finest song on the album "Lunchmeat" encapsulates the best qualities of a Menomena song. It's technically complex, melodic and lyrically translates the essential exuberance of the band. "Lunchmeat" is an absurd fantasy that echoes the paranoia of confronting a natural disaster through references to mythological creatures: "Sirens sing in monotone/Harmonize in deadly drones/Leave the table, the curtains, the computer's useless/Leave the lunchmeat for the sharks." Others, such as "Queen Black Acid," continue to employ elements of the fantasy, ("I walked right into a rabbit store/And felt right into a rabbit hole/I made myself an open book/I made myself a sitting duck"), but this time to express the feelings of insecurity and uncertainty found throughout the rest of the album. "Oh Pretty Boy, You're Such a Big Boy," candidly voices the universal fear of growing old, "Hold my hands/Feel them shake/I feel, oh I feel, I'm showing my age." Menomena is evolving, but they're not just growing old, they're growing up.