It's no secret that I have trouble describing exactly what I like about the music I love. With little to no grasp of technical terminology, a musical education that ended after nine years of playing flute in grade school, and absolutely no skill when it comes to drawing legitimate comparisons to other musicians, if you peruse the pages of this blog you'll see how often I fall back on enthusiastic adjectives and hyperbole. But let's give this a go - I'm going to attempt to outline the reasons why Menomena has become one of my favorite bands.
First amongst the indefinable characteristics that appear again and again in my favorite music is a quality Menomena has in spades - a kind of epic-ness, a sense of drama that pervades their music and makes it, uh... music to my ears. Maybe it's all the classical music I listened to when I became a flute player, but I love the emotional tug you get from a good crescendo, the sense of excitement that simple variations in volume can build.
Second, I'm a sucker for a sense of urgency. Can't really elaborate on that one, but Menomena's tops at this as well.
Third, the music I listen to over and over has to have a decent degree of intricacy. And I'm talking turn-up-the-stereo-sit-on-the-couch-and-just-LISTEN listening, not background party music kind of listening. I love playing an album I've heard 20+ times and hearing something new; being able to play a song five times back to back listening to different parts without getting bored. Menomena? They've got the intricacy thing down too.
Mines is the whole package - and I could hardly imagine a better follow-up to Friend and Foe, the 2007 record that made me fall in love with Menomena in the first place. It's hard to surpass first love, but I think in time I'll rate Mines as high, if not higher than Friend and Foe. Check back in another 50 listens and I'll let you know where things stand.
Recent Comments