Andrew's #9 - "Intil" by Menomena

Intil by Menomena

Andrew

Menomena is a band primarily known for its collaborative experimentation. The band members use a self-designed recording device called "The Dealer" to record a couple bars from one instrument at a time. They go around the room, allowing each band member to contribute a layer at a time. This often results in complex, sonically bizarre songs, with components and instruments appearing and disappearing sometimes seemingly at random.

Which is what makes their simple, straightforward songs that much more impressive. On their previous album, Friend and Foe, it was the soaring, haunting "My My" and on their newest album, Mines, it is the spare, plaintive piano ballad "Intil".

The lyrics hint at a relationship not broken, but wounded. Distance and miscommunication lead to the lovers hiding more and more. "Times when I'm with you/I'm really not myself," sings co-lead-singer Brent Knopf* [who recently left the band (boo!)]. It's a feeling that I, and probably many of us, have felt all too keenly in the past. This is what makes this song stand out from the other strong tracks on the album. It feels like mine. Like it was made for me.

The song swells and spirals, coming full circle by ending with the same lyric it began with, then dying out completely. After 30 seconds of silence, distant voices and a simple piano melody swell briefly and disappear. It's a beautiful ending to a beautiful song.


*Dartmouth alum from '00. Go Big Green!

Seth

Another Andrew post, another song I hadn't heard yet. For whatever reason, I sort of missed the boat on Menomena. Friend and Foe didn't set my world on fire like it did for so many indie rock fans back in '07 and I've still never heard either of their first two. I heard the first half of Mines back in July when I was hanging out in a record store in Brooklyn and, while I enjoyed it, I almost immediately deleted it from memory. I guess I had to draw the line somewhere on Music for Dudes with Beards and Menomena just didn't make the cut.

Having listened to "Intil," though, I could easily forsee a future where that's not the case. It reminds me of Grizzly Bear in a lot of ways (another band I don't like as much as every other human like me). I like the way that the sparseness of the lyrics matches the minimalism of the accompaniment because there's no wasted gestures. Speaking of lyrics, I see what Andrew said about a damaged relationship, which makes sense...but I also get a bit of the odd combination of regret and relief that accompany the final stages of a relationship when both people know it's doomed but want to hold on just a little bit longer.

So let's take a bet on whether or not I've heard Andrew's next song!