It had already been a long tour – but when isn’t Portland’s Menomena on a long tour – when they arrived here on June 24, a Sunday night. They were following The Snake The Cross The Crown into the studio, right at dusk, having made the drive from Omaha, where the trio had played the night before. They had the night off, but the sleepy day must have still felt like work. They were en route to a friend’s Chicago residence, where they would park their van – taking Justin Harris’ mountain bike from the top off and into a safe indoor place – and leave from O’Hare for their first tour of Europe. The band was apprehensive about the travel and the possible reception they’d receive when they got there. Drummer Danny Seim unfolded his legs from the van and Harris rubbed the slumber from his eyes, though it took some time for everyone to get going. They lugged their many particular instruments up the stairs slowly, as if they’d all just finished an hour-long run, dragging their bones. With everyone in the building beset by a lengthy day, there was an interesting energy in the room – one of slight testiness and one of obvious uncertainty. Thank God it’s there. These songs feel alive with the energy and dangerous charm of downed power lines snapping and kicking around on the post-storm pavement, among the calm puddles. There’s a virtual livewire tearing through these versions of songs from this year’s tremendous offering — Friend And Foe — an album that celebrates the duality of the spirit. – Sean Moeller

The bass sound in the song “Weird” is made by Moog Taurus pedals, the first ones to come into our studio, ever.

Weird (Menomena) [2.75MB] [5924 downloads]


– original version appears on Friend and Foe
German-pop.

Second song
Rotten Hell (Menomena) [4.29MB] [5607 downloads]


– original version appears on Friend and Foe
French-pop.

Third song
The Pelican (Menomena) [3.42MB] [5472 downloads]


– original version appears on Friend and Foe
Italian-pop.