Menomena

Portland, Oregon-based experimental rock trio Menomena consist 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 developed by Knopf. 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. 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, which came out in early 2007. ~ William Ruhlmann