Have you had a hard day? Or a hard night, for that matter? Then you could probably do with a bit of blissful monged-out hangover music. You could probably do with a bit of Menendez.
No, no, Menendez aren't hungover, you are. Well, maybe they are, too. But the sound they make is the sort of thing that seems designed to soothe. The sparse, simple tracks consist of quiet plucked guitar or strummed guitar, gentle piano, spacious and minimal drumming for the backbone, and blood harmony vocals from front-persons (or should that be front-siblings?) Daniel and Rachel Burroughs.
The sum total is understated and whimsical, as much jazzy as it is post-rock, and with some elements of folk thrown in – in other words, hard to bracket with ease, which is a good thing. However, I don't quite get the oft-mentioned comparisons with My Bloody Valentine. There's a similarity of solipsism – both bands are plainly focused on inner landscapes in preference to the outside world - but MBV were defined by their completely saturated sound, a wall of noise that drowned the listener; instead, Menendez are leaving acres of space for the listener to propel themselves into. This is music to float on top of, not sink down into, and it's cheerful where MBV were melancholic (or just plain baffled).
And so much for comparisons; Menendez sound like Menendez. And a very pleasant experience it is, too – but it's not particularly exciting. Of course, post-rock isn't supposed to be exciting, but there's usually a central theme or hook to latch onto in each song. Menendez lead with the doubled vocals instead, with the musical content relegated to almost ambient looping at times, a quasi-psychedelic landscape ... it's relaxing, gentle and easy on the ear, but ultimately it's background music. I can imagine reading a book with this playing on my stereo, but I'm not so sure it could hold my attention undivided. However, I'm inclined to believe that's the entire point.
None of this is to say that Menendez's début is a bad album. Far from it; it's lovely, strongly musical without putting itself on a pedestal of virtuosity, and blissfully fond of exploring, like a child that's learned to map-read. But next time, I'd like to see them go beyond the fence at the bottom of the garden, and off across the countryside.
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