The progression of rock 'n' roll over the past half century is as much a testament to scientific discovery in the field of recording music as it is to musical creativity. Ever since the first guitarist plugged in so he could hear himself over the drummer, rock music and technology have tussled like two kids in the back of a cramped car on a road trip. Since then, for every egghead behind the scenes who thinks he can apply what he learned in science class to making music, there's some dimwit booing from the audience, acting like rock's got some purity to protect.
While Rush's "Spirit of the Radio" assured listeners that "all this machinery/making my music/can still be openhearted," Boston wasn't buying it when they scrawled "no synthesizers used" across their liner notes like it was something to boast about. If Boston had been a bunch of acoustic guitar-toting wimps and didn't have MIT diplomas hanging on the studio wall, this might be excusable. Instead, those nerds in denial used technology to recreate the traditional, obsessively tinkering in the studio and inventing gadgets to create classic rock radio manna like "More than a Feeling."
Menomena's new release "Friend & Foe" doesn't have much in common with the '70s dinosaurs except for their use of a much-hyped computer program "Deeler," or digital looping recorder, designed by Menomena guitarist Brent Knopf. Besides knowing that it sets a tempo and allows each member to improvise a short riff, understanding how Deeler works is beside the point. A listener of "Friend & Foe" would hear nothing radically different from any other indie bread-and-butter band, such as Islands or Wolf Parade.
Like Boston before them, who used their engineering degrees to create a flawless version of 1970s stadium rock, these technophobes distance themselves from their use of computer programming. All the talk of technological advances doesn't translate into anything you haven't heard before, instead perfecting mid-2000s indie rock.
Seeing the first title on the track list, "Muscle n' Flo," might prime you for a Three 6 Mafia homage, but Menomena's lead track is a mission statement for the album as a whole. A hodge-podge of elements, including lackadaisical vocals in the method of Malkmus, a repeating pulsing bass, a vaguely Hawaiian slide guitar, an electric organ pinched from a down home revival meeting and insistent, almost inspirational drumming meld together to create something that almost resembles an anthem.
What works so well on "Muscle n' Flo" suffers from diminishing returns when Menomena try to recreate it on almost every subsequent track. "The Pelican" starts off sparse as the lead singer, accompanied only by a piano, tries on a slightly strained howl, ? la Wolf Parade's Spencer Krug, but this quiet entrance is only setting up listeners for the whole band's triumphant introduction. "Wet and Rusting" is next up with the exact same trick, building slowly to a sort of musical break-out. This doesn't mean these are poor songs by any stretch of imagination - in fact, they're close to being outstanding songs.
By the midpoint of the record, on another fine song, "Rotten Hell," listeners might start to get a little bored when the laid-back tune again follows the formula, building to an amped-up ending. Like "The Office"'s Michael Scott on Pretzel Day, Menomena have had too much of a good thing. They've cracked a code to creating a quirky sing-along indie hit, but they're a bit too hyped up on their own enthusiasm. On multiple listens, their songs can degenerate into a collection of clever parts that are too aware of their own cleverness. Some songs just don't need that horn loop or the crescendo at the end and would do better to fall out of the formula and stay low-key.
The over-exuberance becomes even more tiresome in light of "Ghostship," an understated two and a half minutes where the subdued elements of the song allow for some actual emotion to shine through. There's a vulnerability here that doesn't exist on any of the other tracks. Where the rest of the album is an extroverted attempt to convince listeners that every song is really, really fun, "Ghostship" is a quick glimpse of introspection.
Whether their ability to achieve near-perfection within their genre is a result of their computer programming hokum, songwriting prowess, or, most likely, a combination of the two, Menomena's "Friend & Foe" still somehow manages to be eclectic without being different. For anyone who has heard bands with which Menomena would be grouped - the Unicorns, the Shins, Wolf Parade - each element introduced into a song will be recognizable. It's off-beat while still being familiar, leaving nothing out of place.
While stabs at perfection can produce massively enjoyable yet antiseptic crowd-pleasers like "More than a Feeling," the vitality of any type of music depends on those willing to make mistakes.
