Although Portland trio Menomena epitomise the spirit of DIY, they’ve now added some seductive polish to their honest sweat…
If you want results then get your digits dirty; ancient advice of enterprise that’s rung true since the dawn of metaphorical bells. And there’s no more shimmering example on the musical circuit than Menomena; an indie trio who’ve performed every single music job for the last decade with a grin and as much of a healthy appetite for swapping instruments as making all their CDs by hand.
Standing over their fourth and very different album ‘Mines’ they are back in the UK, a territory happy to embrace their turbulent beauty. Recording and producing all four albums, whilst honing their unique swooning electronic indie journey, they have also cleverly crafted distinct album packaging before self booking, promoting and smashing entire tours around the world. On their sweat and vision they’ve cast their hearts and name into musical immortality.
Justin Harris, multi-instrumentalist and shared singer, confirms their DIY credentials: “We’re not spending tens and hundreds of thousands making these records as we’ve haven’t got this massive studio budget over our heads that we had to recoup. Fortunately we can still record for free. So if anyone likes it it’s really flattering. When we got our Pitchfork score (8.7/10) back in 2002 I didn’t really know what it meant because I wasn’t really aware of online press but then it opened a whole bunch of doors over there [in America] and over here too. It’s nice that people care about little unsigned no-name acts.”
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Musically Menomena are marvellously melodic. Fuck traditional roles, this trio all sing and swap their instruments like schoolboys do sweets. Not scared of dropping huge rock riffs, or modern classical piano, whilst oscillating from whispers to desperate metallic pleadings they are an amorphous joy. If you like your indie peppered with electronic delight in the footsteps of The Beta Band or Primal Scream then put some time aside and make a new pal.
There’s a distinctly enviable edge to Menomena’s perfectly self-sufficient trajectory – just ask Twisted Wheel who floundered their way off their major label bank balance. One of the core reasons they’ve achieved such a position has been their base of Portland. Once a frontier settlement seething with nefarious characters it was a place lacking any culture, Danny Seim reveals: “It was an old saloon logging town originally, a ‘stump’ town in the early 1900s.”
With Seattle to the north and San Fransisco to the south it’s grown its own leftfield hippy personality that gives its arts scene a vibrant and importantly secure air. “It’s a very different place now,” continues Danny. “That was all before The Shins, Modest Mouse, before all of these bands moving to Portland, but fortunately it hasn’t really changed. People still seem just as friendly and supportive of each other. It just seems like it all went by so fast and now we’re one of the first bands that were there. Now everywhere you go you run into a band and in every bar there’s like thirty bands represented. But we’re the original grandpas.”
They’ve definitely taken a lo-fi path through the industry but with shimmering results. City brethern like The Gossip or Modest Mouse definitely did things differently, but the boys are resolute and clearly loving their calm bubble they alone are in control. “Keep the fire burning,” Danny proudly exclaims. “You have to have passion for it; it won’t work otherwise.”
Words by Matthew Bennett
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Clash Magazine Issue 53
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