Album Review: Menomena - Moms

If ever there were a band that ran the risk of delivering diminishing returns for their new album, Menomena are it. To lose a founding member and become a two-piece, in a group renowned for forging thoughtful, complex and densely layered pop, surely equates to a paring back in a musical scope. Moms defiantly treads even more grandly diverse sonic ground than previous release Mines. It's quite odd to think that a trio of musicians, so abrasively conflicting in personality to the point of sheer communication breakdown, could still produce the music they do and not have it feel forced, rote or passionless. What eventuates in recording has proven to be the very opposite, and the reduction in personnel has only emphasised their idiosyncrasies.

A strong thematic undercurrent lyrically ties songs that are otherwise disparate, though no less engaging for it. The duo of Justin Harris and Danny Seim channel the impact of their upbringing, or lack thereof (hence the title), into typically raw emotion: “Heavy are the branches hanging from my fucked up family tree” (Heavy Is As Heavy Does). At times the dense layering of instrumentation only serves to muddle (see Batons), but when there is clarity in their structuring, the music's really on point. The whole album seems to work itself up to closing track One Horse, an eight-minute epic and one of the highlights of Menomena's entire catalogue. It's a stunningly beautiful and moving song that stands out from the rest of Moms. Fingers crossed Harris and Seim can hold the creative will together and continue to explore lyrical riches of the personal and musical riches of the studio.