Eleven Little Songs

Man, waiting four years for an album must suck. I know, I’ve been waiting five for an album that is still being delayed be the band (I see you, Casablancas, saying the new Strokes album won’t be out until next year). Luckily, Menomena aren’t that heartless. Yes, the release date has been changed about three times but now the Portland trio’s fourth material is out and ready for many, many plays. For Menomena didn’t sit around the studio for so long only to take out an ok album. “Critically acclaimed” is what their previous albums were so Mines should be as well.

You’ll also be hearing things such as ‘more melodic’, ‘not so experimental like before’, ‘less quirky’ when someone will bring the album up. Then somebody else will remember the bath tub photos and the discussion will shift from the music to how creepy or not those photos were. Getting back to the album, those words would, indeed, be almost perfect to describe it. It strikes you from the heart-on-my-sleeve album opener Queen Black Acid. Its chorus “You bring me down”, almost Damon-Albarn-vocals, sparkling drums, quiet guitar crescendos point out that we are going down a hard path and one should carefully pay attention. But tonality is swiftly changed with TAOS, a garage-rock bluesy outfit that has the smoothness of Black Keys and is chockfull of sing-a-long lyrics.

More melodic, yes. But Mines is by no means less ambitious than any other Menomena album. The bleakly sang lyrics of Killemall (“Did you strangle your ghost/When she broke in your home?”) are surrounded by snaring drums, breezes of piano notes and swirling guitars going up and down to create a storm of noises. Dirty Cartoons is as 90s as it could get, sprinkling bits of Sebadoh-like vocals and guitars here and there, moments of utter silence and heavy drums setting the stage for Tithe. Chimes and a guitar riff that make room for emotionally-charged lyrics and almost ethereal vocals.

But the clam atmosphere of Tithe is juxtaposed to the scratchy guitar riffs, insane drums and heavily-hit piano of BOTE. “I thought I was tough/ I thought I was strong/ Thought I could handle anyone who came along” and the heart is on its sleeve again but hidden by the many layers of distortions. Lunchmeat sees the trio in the mood for more experimental crazy shit and with a strange desire to take a bite out of TV On The Radio’s rightful little niche. Oh Pretty Boy, You're Such A Big Boy is strangely gloomy, intoxicating nonetheless with its atmospheric guitars, low keys and lingering vocals. The saxophone off Five Little Rooms turns a far too ethereal song into a more grounded one, while its poignant drums seem to explode under the pressure of the church-organ-like ghostly piano.

The only genuinely strange track on Mines is Sleeping Beauty. Its ups and downs in tonality make it feel like two different songs: one too lo-fi and that requires complete attention and focus to be understood and another that is almost a burst of energy with its distorted choir-vocals and big drums. INTIL wraps up the album wonderfully. It has the most emotional piano on the whole record, marching drums and more surreal vocals that feel like breaths of fresh air. It build-ups perfectly only to end abruptly and leave place for complete silence, as if this was the only way to release all your emotions.

Mines might be more melodic, less experimental, less quirky, might be sad and dark and filled with various emotions that are thrown out into the limelight. But Mines is magical and is another important step into the growth of a really amazing band. It is a story of coming-of-age, in that Menomena are becoming more mature music-wise and are learning to play around with far more complex concepts than before.