Albums
Prophet
2012
Genre: Alternative
Release Date: 2012
By Paul Thompson
Reviewed May 14, 2012
The ex-Menomena multi-instrumentalist returns with his second full-length, and it's another production wonder, vast and symphonic one moment, stark and intimate the next.
Just about every song on Prophet, the second album from ex-Menomena multi-instrumentalist Brent Knopf's Ramona Falls, borrows its title from one natural phenomenon or another: "Spore", "Bodies of Water", "Helium", that sort of thing. Knopf, the guy who introduced the Digital Looping Recorder to Menomena, has a longstanding fascination with the tensions between the natural and the mechanical. The intricately arranged album is a good showcase for Knopf's cut-and-paste perfectionism; , like 2009's Intuit, is vast and symphonic one moment, stark and intimate the next. As his music grows grander, though, Knopf's human side gets a little lost amidst all the elaborate knob-and-wire work.