(Barsuk)

www.barsuk.com

Portland, Oregon's Menomena has perfected the knack of making melancholy and malaise sonically unique and catchy. Like debut Friend or Foe, Mines includes inventively crafted, addictive songs that tread further into this ominous abyss. Opening track "Queen Black Acid" divulges the callousness of a vixen as the words "you're five foot five, not a hundred pounds/I'm scared to death of every single ounce" are slowly sung before a sparse soundscape of static drums, bells and simple guitar strums.

Here begins our foray through Mines. Lyrically, Brent Knopf, Justin Harris, and Danny Seim navigate the rapture, weary relationships, love lost and faulty characteristics; each track proves the title of this sophomore release to be quite apt. Knopf, Harris and Seim have divulged that the creation of this album occurred during difficult times - both in their personal lives and that of the band. It is apparent that these turbulences fueled Mines and luckily it fueled them creatively.

DOWNLOAD: "Dirty Cartoons," "Tithe" APRIL S. ENGRAM