Menomena have made a surprise return with their first new EP in 12 years, The Insulation. It features three songs, with each member taking lead vocals on a different track: Danny Seim sings the title track, Justin Harris sings “Copious,” and Brent Knopf sings “Caravan.” It finds the Portland, OR’s arty, baroque indie pop in great form. Listen below.
The Insulation is Menomena’s first album since their 2012 album Moms and first release with Brent Knopf involved since 2010’s Mines. Brent left the band in 2011 to focus first on Ramona Falls and then EL VY (with The National’s Matt Berninger), and Danny and Justin continued the band without him until playing their final show in 2014. Since then, Danny also formed a band with a member of The National (Bryan Devendorf) called Pfarmers, and Justin played bass in Bloc Party from 2015-2023.
