Performing as part of the Laneway Festival, it was only fair that Menomena play a number of sideshows.
Performing as part of the Laneway Festival, it was only fair that Menomena play a number of sideshows. It was, after all, the first time that the Portland, Oregon art-rockers have made their way to our shores within their three-album-long career.
The trick would be to see just how they’d pull off their finely arranged, textured works – often built from impromptu jams and cut-and-paste style editing – to the live setting. The results were particularly hit and miss. A delayed start due to some monitor troubles was a slight omen to the proceedings. Once they did begin, with the drums-and-away speed of Muscle ‘n Flo, they quickly found their groove – and their mix.
Seeing Danny Seim pound away his dense rhythms while singing in his raspy tenor was a visual treat, and lead multi-instrumentalist Justin Harris gave a solid vocal performance despite a having cold, swapping between bass, guitar and most enjoyably, saxophone. He even managed a little bit of recorder during the punchy drama of Five Little Rooms.
However, the frantic instrument swapping highlighted the minor flaws in Menomena as a live entity. Some of the more densely textured elements of their structured pieces – particularly the sparser moments – suffered slightly. The cathartic swell of Tithe lacked a thickness present in its respective recording, while Weird sounded a little thin in general.
It would seem petty at this point, but worth noting is the recent departure of key member Brent Knopf. Though he left in amicable circumstances, his range of contributions – from deft piano work to his range of songs – were noticeably missing, leaving a delicate hole in the heavier sounding set. There was no Wet & Rusting or Killemall, for instance. There are, in fact, two members to make up for his absence, but they seemed a little disconnected.
When the group are belting it out though, such as on recent album Mines‘ rocking linchpin TAOS or with the flaying energy of BOTE "Oh sea legs don’t fail me now!", they seem unshakeable. After all, much of the reward in the band’s catalogue relies on its eccentricity, such as the off-kilter polyrhythm that characterises The Late Great Libido, the opening track from their debut all those years ago. Contrasting that was the opening cut from Mines: the looped beauty of Queen Black Acid which, along with Dirty Cartoons , shows the band is capable of warping their curious methods to touching emotional centres. The latter in particular is surprisingly mesmerising with its repetition of "I’d like to go home, go home" against rousing harmonies, light piano and Seim’s muscular drumming.
It was also a cheeky way to close their set proper before returning with The Pelican for the encore. Despite Harris’ weary voice, it acted as a pointed reminder at just what Menomena can achieve at their most potent: namely a strange but exciting rock that defies categorisation even as it relies and builds upon its cornerstone elements.
Loved: People peering over shoulders to see just how that sax was working with the loop pedal.
Hated: Two swaying beer-swillers who obviously had the band confused with Men At Work.
Drank: Water, because like Harris, I had a nasty cold.
AL NEWSTEAD
