Menomena

The name of Menomena’s debut full-length, I Am the Fun Blame Monster, is an anagram for “the first Menomena album.” Similarly, the Portland trio rearranges parcels of sound into epic pop opuses using Deeler, a software program created by pianist Brent Knopf. But there’s much more magic involved than simple sampling; the group ceaselessly builds and strips layers of texture and melody, conducting drumbeats like bursts of thunder and filling the gap between the Unicorns, Clinic and Kid A. And while a definite sense of goofiness abounds in Menomena’s music, it exists in counterpoise to soaring drama and quixotic grandeur. Live, Knopf and crew replicate their computer-drafted songs using live instruments, collating the digital and the organic without a glitch. Dancey, heady and exhilarating, Menomena is a band on its way to hugeness — no matter how you slice and dice it.