friend and foe.
from portland oregon, menomena‘s new album *friend & foe* had been sadly sitting quietly upon my shelf untouched. the artwork designed by craig thompson kept calling me for weeks to come closer, but i was fearful. there’s so much chaos and intensity involved inside this intriguing cover art, what if the album didnt live up to its special design? 
diving into new music: the setting, the feeling, the situation has to be just right. so here i am, headphones in tact, listening for the first time, taking it all and giving in.my first thought surrounds the music as challenging. however, as the colorful disorder appears upon every level of where all these instruments collide, the sound becomes almost seamless. a shift of moods empower the vocals, while merging piano keys slide into stumbling basslines. wistfully running inside acoustic guitars and pounding drums, contagious handclaps, gliding saxophone and all those extra lil delicate noises blend simply into pure studio magic.
l i s t e n.
art by craig thompson
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February 19th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
I just recently was introduced to menomena from my local record shop. Like you, I found their music to be a bit challenging but sometimes challenging is a good thing. ;-)
February 20th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
awww rachel, thanks for stopping by… yr exactly right. menomena truly takes a bit of time, but its worth it :)