Menomena

Mines

(Barsuk)

Record Review by Adam McKibbin

Despite being one of the most ballyhooed bands of 2007, Menomena have been able to fly a little under the radar with the release of Mines.  One reason – presumably unanticipated, although the conspiracy theorist in me likes to imagine Menomena deliberately taking advantage of the release calendar – is that Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs came out a week later and shot straight to the top of the charts.  It’s this same unfounded belief that leads me to theories like Menomena picking one of their least interesting songs (“Killemall,” admittedly one of their best titles) to play as their live network TV debut on Jimmy Fallon’s show.  Others have said that it was a matter of track length – but that theory just isn’t as exciting.

Art isn’t a competition and blah blah – but Mines is a better album than The Suburbs (and that’s coming from someone who gave a four-star review to the latter).  At this point, three albums into their careers, Menomena have the higher ceiling.  Rather than refining their sound, they’re redefining it, relentlessly varying it, mixing it up.  While not the first band to do so, they’ve even broken from the traditional confines of being in a band; instead of each member keeping to their assigned spot, they all switch around on instruments (as anyone who’s seen them live can attest) and take turns front and center.

All three are self-professed perfectionists, which seems to be the main reason for the longer-than-anticipated time between albums.  The internet had fun with the delay; at one point, the band was said to be collaborating over email because they were sick of each other.  The band seems to be having a little bit of wry fun with the delay, too; Danny Seim admits that the band has survived despite “brutal disagreements, unrelenting grudges, and failed marriages.”  Or maybe he’s not being wry at all.  Whatever the case, Mines sounds carefully considered at every single one of its many twists and turns.  That’s not so remarkable in and of itself, but the miracle is that the album never feels overbaked, despite the agonized and studious approach. We're getting a little ahead of ourselves, but here in August it's looking pretty safe to say that Menomena have once again earned a spot alongside the year's finest and brightest.