Menomena

Portland, OR-based experimental rock group Menomena is a trio that consists of multi-instrumentalists Justin Harris, Brent Knopf, and Danny Seim. They assembled much of their debut album, I Am the Fun Blame Monster!, by using a computer program dubbed Deeler and developed by Knopf. The album's unusual packaging was in the form of a flipbook depicting the bandmembers performing. Menomena released it themselves on a very limited basis in 2003, then signed to the Portland independent label FILMguerrero for a national release in October 2004, accompanied by a national tour. Before signing to Barsuk, the band issued Under an Hour, a three-movement instrumental record that had originally accompanied a 2004 modern dance performance in Portland. Things were a little more straightforward, however, on Friend and Foe (cover art nonwithstanding, which was designed by Craig Thompson, author of the graphic novel Blankets), which came out in early 2007. The band continued with this more focused approach, and in 2010 released their fourth album, Mines. ~ William Ruhlmann, Rovi