Brent Knopf has not had more than three hours of sleep a night in the past few weeks and although clearly overjoyed at the sight of carrot juice and chocolate, he could hardly express it. Offering a heartfelt but subdued “thanks” to the Paradise stagehand who brought him the food, Knopf kept eyeing it while answering questions. Although trying not to be rude, he was very clearly famished.

Knopf is the keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist of Menomena, one of the latest bands to come out of the Portland, Oregon, indie scene. Although midway through its third national tour, Menomena remains a small name behind other Portland giants like The Decemberists and The Shins. But with each tour, Menomena continues to play larger clubs as its popularity spreads.

Menomena’s albums are marked by a sound that’s hard to define – instrumental loops punctuated by explosive drums, fluid bass lines and sharp, harmonic blasts that form tight, hook-laden pop songs. Their songs often reach monumental crescendos, only to be ripped down and reconstructed again, abandoning rhythms they worked so hard to establish in favor of something entirely new but equally riveting.

Because each member is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, the recording process has to be democratic, Knopf said. To facilitate recording, Menomena uses a computer program Knopf wrote called Digital Loop Recorder, or Deeler, which records and stores music. During practice, they’ll pass a mic around the room and riff off each other, recording and looping their parts until satisfied. Then they’ll begin anew, storing their past jam in Deeler’s archives to be later accessed during the editing process. The Deeler sessions are only the beginning of the writing and recording process.

“The only thing that really bums me out about the program is that people think it writes the music for us. It doesn’t at all,” Knopf said. “It’s just a little tool that we use sometimes and it makes it easier to come up with ideas without having to chose which ones will make the final cut right away.”

Playing live, Menomena captures the scale and the intensity of their studio tracks through subtle improvisations, perfectionist instrumentation and an overwhelming focus on their huge drum sound. And when they nail one of their more complicated, multi-instrumental parts, they share a very definite “hell yeah!” moment together, and with the crowd.

This is Menomena’s second tour in support of Friend and Foe, so the show consisted mostly of songs from the album. But each song showcased a different member’s distinguishing mark. Knopf is reserved in his attack, switching between keys and guitar while providing harmonies and lead vocals with a humble demeanor that establishes him as a quirky, mysterious frontman. Justin Harris throws his entire body into singing while playing bass with a religious fervor, making full use of the entire fret-board before dropping the instrument for saxophone or guitar. And the 6’7″ Danny Seim stalks his drums with the frightening intensity of a hunter, pouncing at just the right accent, hammering out hip-hop beats while maintaining delicate vocal melodies.

Friend and Foe, Menomena’s latest album is a darker, more cohesive work than its predecessor, I am the Fun Blame Monster.

“I think we just knew what we were doing a bit more [with Friend and Foe],” Knopf said. “Blame Monster, for me at least, was just trial and error. We’re more experienced, more used to it. We were quicker to getting the results we wanted.”

Where Blame Monster focused more on sprawling, instrumental breakdowns littered with fragmented vocals, Friend and Foe takes more of a thematic approach, with lyrics that mirror the music’s darker tone. It explores disillusionment and imperfection while considering the concept of a perfect world.

“I’m always idealizing the world, trying to turn objects into abstractions, which sets a bit of a trap,” Knopf said, commenting on the song Evil Bee from Friend and Foe.

“Because you think that you want everything to be perfect and flawless but I wonder if people would actually be happy if the world was like that – without work or conflict.”

After this tour, the guys will go home for Thanksgiving and begin work on their new record, Knopf said.

“I’ve been telling people that our next record is going to be rap-metal,” said Knopf with a completely deadpan delivery, as he absently looks around the room. “I mean, I did it all for the nookie.”