"The most glorious, panoramic album of this light-year, complete with glitchy weird-outs, operatic arrangements and a rag-time New Orleans sense of soul. Even their closest counterparts - think TV On The Radio (with added hooks), Cold War Kids (dullness revoked) - haven't embraced anything quite this alien. There's no be-grumping the bore of nine-to-five living. It's not set in a scene, a trend or some amateur dramatic art college. It's a scroll of original deliberation, where not one note is straightforward, but still totally irresistible."  (NME)

"With any group of three, one is bound to distance itself from the pack, and Menomena’s exuberant art-rock excursions did just that. Touring in support of its “Friend and Foe” CD, the Portland, Ore., trio kept fans guessing throughout its rather fantastic set, changing time signatures, whipping out funky instruments only to shed them after a few bars and creating melodically complex minisuites. Each song felt like it was hurtling toward a glorious train wreck, but the band somehow managed to avoid the crash every time. Brent Knopf’s keyboard and glockenspiel accents, combined with the baritone sax honking and fuzzy bass-pedal stomp of Justin Harris, made for an intriguing racket, especially as underpinned by the manic thumping of drummer Danny Seim. With tunes such as the avant-pop “Wet & Rusting” and the proto-funk “Twenty Cell Revolt,” Menomena displayed experimental rock at its best: pushing the creative envelope while remaining accessible and entertaining. Nice to be reminded that art rock need not be so serious."  (Boston Herald)

"Folk Implosion, a beat-happy side project of Sebadoh's Lou Barlow, once seemed to have so much potential. The band threaded weird melodies, rhythms and textures through the same tiny hole. Unfortunately, it could never quite finish what it started. Menomena, a Portland, Ore.- based trio, made good on Folk Implosion's promise by injecting dub, hip-hop and experimental rock through similar channels. On its sophomore disc, "Friend and Foe," the band perfects a scattered blend of elements from its debut, relying on unpredictable computer loops, baldly melodic vocals and irresistible beats. Echoes of Ween ("Rotten Hell"), Gorillaz ("Weird") and Folk Implosion (the heart-rending "Wet and Rusting") reverberate, but the band has crafted something unique on "Friend or Foe." It's one of the first standout discs of the year, wide awake and sprinting through a dream land of spooky, brilliant melodies."  (Denver Post)

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