Menomena
Friend Or Foe
Barsuk
By Eavvon O'Neal
Menomena is a name that has been on the lips of man and felt puppet alike recently. When one comes across a band who most likely got its name from a Muppets song ("Mah Nà Mah Nà") it can be a safe assumption that it will be hard to categorize their product. Luckily, their third full-length album, Friend and Foe is in a category of its own.
It’s an exceptional album, despite the accusations of feigned maturity. There are noticeable changes from I Am the Fun Blame Monster, but not to the extent where one could note a complete disjunction from prior works. There is still the use of customized digital looping, which creates an almost ambient uniformity throughout the album. There is a graceful and regimented diligence that is produced through the use of their looping that not only moves each song, but also gives this album its own definitive moxie. No song is close to another in concept, and elects its own feeling. “Muscle 'n Flo”, with pounding drums and lithe cymbal crashes, open the album with a necessary intensity that feeds the direction of the rest of the album. “Air Aid” creates an eerie, futuristic haunt, with intermittent satellite blips beneath ghostly lyrics and chants. “Wet and Rusting” builds intensity as more instrumentation is added, while the lyrics stay simple and repeat throughout the 3 minutes and 33 seconds of the song. Its pliable yet very rigid in places, and almost teeters on the precipice of disjointedness.
Menomena has produced a work that exceeds the awesomeness of their two prior albums. They are the poster child for experimental rock and have managed to show consistent development and creditable ingenuity which defines them as an entity. Friend and Foe is “thinking outside the box” with guidelines.
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