Ramona Falls - Intuit

 

You could be forgiven for thinking that the debut release from Ramona Falls is the long anticipated third album from Portland's Menomena. It sounds roughly like it could fit anywhere in the Menomena timeline. Intuit is the product of Menomena band member Brent Knopf. Rumour has it that the recording process for the third Menomena was delayed big time and Knopf, obviously still on some sort of music high just kept going. The result is something new and something you might of heard before.

Those familiar with Knopf's work in Menomena will be instantly at home with the initial sound. Knopf tends to lean towards a more dense sound. I Say Fever is a prime example of what's he's all about. A quiet start leading into a large crescendo. But you end up in a very different sounding place once the track reaches its final throws. Sounds like a Menomena song doesn't it? Cynics will brand it good but nothing new, which is far enough in some cases. It's not that Knopf has written the same old material because if you've got the time you'll notice that it's not quite the same.

There seems to be a willingness to somewhat ditch the synthesisers and loops for a more acoustic sound. It may sound very dense but there's a de-constructed feeling to the overall crux of the album. Russia is a prime example of what Knopf is up to with the sounds and textures if his solo work. Of course you can't forget that there's more than a few guest artists featuring on Intuit. Guests like Benjamin Weikel (The Helio Sequence), Mirah Y.T. Zeitlyn and Janet Weiss (Sleeter-Kinney) to name just a few.

So how does it stack up overall? Breaking the mould is something Brent Knopf does for a living when it comes to his music. But Ramona Falls isn't that far removed from his previous work. There are moments on the album where you can become lost in the beautifully crafted dynamic sound. Knopf  has clearly mastered the sound he likes and flaunts it big time here. Fans of Menomena will be right at home...


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