Okay, when I got the record from Danny from Menomena’s solo project, Lackthereof in the mail I wasn’t expecting much more than one or two entertaining listens. I was not familiar with his existence as a solo artist and that was clearly pretty stupid because this will easily be one of my favorite records of the year.
You know Danny, he is the insanely tall drummer from Menomena, pictured above with the band’s manager (yes, really). Danny’s songs should be familiar too but Lackthereof is a bit more varied in it’s craft than any Menomena record. Danny’s always stellar drumming, inherent knack for songcraft, and effortlessly beautiful harmonies make it pretty impossible to deny Your Anchor.
Choir Practice is a groovy song with a tight bassline and break-neck, hyper-compressed drums and a melody that will weave it’s way into the fibers of your subconcious for many toe-tapping days at work to come. Things get a little electornic on Last November, which I think is either a song about being in the studio or being trapped in a pit, You Can is a stomp-along country song done experimental style with slide guitar, off-kilter drums, and acoustic guitar bizzarely but naturally married. Vacant Eyes starts out sounding like the more noir parts of an Interpol record and somehow ends up a song built around a 3-part harmony and a note-by-note guitar line.
To put it simply, Your Anchor is 30 minutes of pure bliss; one part Beck, two parts experimental, a lot of genre hopping, tied together by one constant; Danny Seim’s completely effortless ability to craft great songs. Your Anchor is out net Tuesday, July 22, on Barsuk. If you’re lucky enough to live in Portland you can catch Lackthereof Thursday night at Holocene. Otherwise you’ll ahve to wait for a Menomena tour!
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