Though Portland trio Menomena seem to get a little less experimental with every release, their fourth album is as intriguing a record as they've ever made. Packed to the brim with intricate details hidden amidst a mass of vocal and instrumental layers, 'Mines' has moments of angst-ridden fury balanced by others of touching vulnerability.
While Menomena have been almost universally acclaimed by critics, they remain unexplainably and criminally unacknowledged among the general populous. Their gimmick is that they use their own self-programmed software, taking turns to record looped tracks in what they describe as a "democratic" manner. It's a technique that makes their music sound disjointed, unreal and synthetic, ever so slightly unsettling, and obviously not a sound that could ever be recreated in a live setting by just three men. Though less apparent here than on previous works, it's Menomena's ability to make such disparate and clearly unrelated sounds interact so perfectly that make them so unique. Yes, these songs are quite long and sometimes require some patience, but it always pays off, if to varying degrees.
'Queen Black Acid' makes for a relatively underwhelming opening, its simple guitar strum, bass and knick-knacking drum beat giving no hint of the aural treats that are to come. Thankfully, it's soon followed by the buzzing distortion and yelping vocals of 'Toas', its screeching electric guitars alternating between different angles before the trio's customary piano, bass saxophone and vocal layers fill every inch of the song with riotous excess. Similarly 'Bote' combines an array of electric guitar sounds with intermittent sax embellishments and the unrestrained crashing and clattering of drums, while the sax is actually the driving force on the darker, more sinister 'Five Little Rooms'.
But it's when Menomena mellow out that they reach a new level of beauty. The simple melody of 'Dirty Cartoons' hardly deviates throughout its five and a half minutes, but the arrangements are constantly in flux, leading to a truly breathtaking climax achieved by bringing everything back to the bare bones of piano, tambourine and vocals. Closing track 'Intil', too, is beautiful in its simplicity, a Lennonesque melody driven by piano and the regretful sentiment that "sometimes I say too much". Though all their extra touches, detailed flourishes and sonic textures give their music an edge, it's the songs underneath that make Menomena special.
