Menomena: Friend and Foe (Barsuk Record)
Dramatic, but mature, indie rock/pop. Splashy, driving drums and electric guitars give album a slightly heavy feel. Dreamy at moments; heavy rock at other times. Cool layers that seamlessly blend into the mix, yet don’t get lost (xylophones, saxophones, piano, electro-beeps, organs, harpsichord, trumpets). While the lushness has an awesome sonic quality, the only caveat is that the tracks can get slightly boring. Songs often develop via addition/subtraction of layers. I couldn’t discern any FCCs, hence clean.
Most songs work well, but I recommend #3, 9, 5, 1, 4, 12
1) 4:22 – medium pace, heavy pop. Repetitive/catchy vox melody. Cool slow organ part.
2) 3:39 – starts w/ compressed rock vox w/piano chords. Slightly bluesy guitars. Crunchy beat.
3) 3:33 – dreamy-pop. starts w/sing-song vox line. Acoustic strumming, xylophone, piano chords. Atmospheric. Tense, but kinda peaceful.
4) 4:44 – syncopated rhythm. nice bass line + stuttering drums. Snazzy sax bleeps. Pensive bass vocals + pianos. Kinda funky.
5) 3:05 – simple, yet smart percussion (sleigh-bells). Hoover/electro bass. Sick saxes. Neato guitar/vox interaction. Ends w/harpsichord (dulcimer?).
6) 4:18 – pensive piano chords. Sad vox. Gongs, handclaps. Picks up near end.
7) 1:52 – dramatic piano and percussion/bass. Subdued syncopated vox.
8) 3:48 – sad, dramatic pop. organs, splashy drums, slow vocals.
9) 5:18 – boyscout troop whistling. Saxes. More splashy, marching drums. Fun + friendly.
10) 4:45 – starts with ½ of a second of the previous track. begins with distant sounding drums, then builds. Muted pop. Sax solo. Builds to dramatic end.
11) 2:28 –Pensive (brooding bass, breathy vocals, maracas). Harmonies.
12) 5:51 – mysterious/dissonant piano line. Cool percussion, w/muted xylophone. Funky bass/vox. Gets quiet around 2:37 (going forward). Builds back up. Quiet again at 4:00, then quietly noodles itself to death.