Menomena

The experimental rock band Menomena formed in Portland, Oregon, with an initial lineup of multi-instrumentalists Justin Harris, Brent Knopf, and Danny Seim. Much of the group’s debut album, I Am the Fun Blame Monster!, was constructed through Deeler, a computer program Knopf had created. Its packaging took the shape of a flipbook illustrating the members in performance. The trio issued the record on their own in an extremely limited 2003 pressing before securing a deal with Portland’s independent FILMguerrero label, which arranged a nationwide release and tour in October 2004. Ahead of their Barsuk signing, they released Under an Hour, a three-movement instrumental piece originally scored for a 2004 modern dance performance in Portland. Friend and Foe arrived in early 2007 with cover art by Craig Thompson, author of the graphic novel Blankets, though the music itself adopted a more direct approach. The band sustained that focused direction on its fourth album, Mines, which appeared in 2010. Knopf subsequently announced his exit to prioritize his solo project Ramona Falls, leaving Harris and Seim to continue as a duo. That configuration yielded Moms in 2012, Menomena’s most personal album to date. Seim later issued Gunnera in 2015 through his comparably experimental side project Pfarmers, a trio completed by drummer Bryan Devendorf of the National and horn player Dave Nelson of David Byrne & St. Vincent.