August 6, 2010

Album review: Menomena – ‘Mines’ (City Slang/Cooperative Music)

Artistic tension brings rich rewards for these lads

9 / 10 Menomena didn’t have a whale of a time making this record, which is not surprising when you hear its challenging clash of ideas and musical styles. But ‘Mines’, in all its sprawling glory, needs to be heard to be believed, because somehow the Portland, Oregon art.rock trio manage to hold it together despite admitting they spent the songwriting process picking apart what each other had penned and “breaking each others’ hearts along the way”. They should probably piss each other off more often if it gets results like this; each track on their fourth boasting a captivating blend of experimentalism and depth.

Camilla Pia

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