Menomena

Usually you can tell when stuff is machine-made -- there's a whiff of the generic to Twinkies and office furniture. But you'd never know that Portland, Ore.'s Menomena used a computer program to write the songs on their 2004 debut. During pre-recording sessions, that program, Deeler, assisted the human trio improvise song structures, resulting in guitar-based rock that stretches between druggy experimentation, succinct pop and thunderous bombast. Accented by stately piano and smoky saxophone, this man/machine interface veers into intriguing sonic territory.