Ramona Falls — Intuit

This is Brent Knopf of Portland, Ore. trio Menomena's solo project, and it's about as far apart from Menomena as you can get. Menomena are a tense and at times obtuse math-rock band, but with Intuit Knopf has continued to shave off the sharp edges on his songwriting.

Intuit begins so quietly with "Melectric" you are tempted to check that you have the volume on at all. The light piano tinkling is nicely juxtaposed by the staccato of the computerized drumbeats and heavy bass lines. Knopf's voice wavers above this backdrop to finely drive the track.

It's a great start to an album that unfolds with a series of compositions that lean more to mini-symphonies than straightforward pop songs. While "I Saw Fever" follows a similar path, the use of some synth-driven beats add a slight trip-hop feel to the proceedings here.

The album does have its quieter moments. The ballad, "Russia" has the nuanced velvet feel of Andrew Bird, complete with soothing rhythms interrupted by sharp atonal sound jabs. Also, the short piano-instrumental "Boy Ant" acts nicely as a break before the album's more-diverse second act.

Like many of the early songs on this album, Intuit as a whole builds to a musical highpoint before unleashing a musical denouement with "The Darkest Day" and "Bellyfella," the latter which is dominated by acoustic guitar plucking and choral singing.

The finale "Diamond Shovel" features Knopf seemingly alone as the song features acoustic guitar and solo vocals, almost like a sweet, quick encore. All in all, Intuit is a delightful adventurous record from top to bottom.

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