Prophet [CD]

Like most of us, Brent Knopf watches a lot of YouTube videos, only he's not watching kittens playing piano. Rather, his tastes err on the more experimental side of things-- like people who attempt perpetual motion machines using magnets. "I love that theyre trying to harness an endless supply of energy," says the Ramona Falls frontman, "and that they go against conventional wisdom in the hopes of true discovery." Which is exactly what Knopf did last year, when he decided to quit the acclaimed art rock trio Menomena and devote his time to one epic, personal vision. "False freedom is the ratification of pre-rigged choices," the musician paraphrases the philosopher Noam Chomsky, "while true freedom is the agency to shape the choices themselves." But as Knopf is learning now with a full-time focus on a former side project, freedom comes with greater risk. Prophet, the second Ramona Falls album, is sonically, lyrically and thematically brighter. It's also more organic and personal than anything he ever contributed to Menomena, or as the singer/multi-instrumentalist explains, "it's more of a rapid transit line between my sleeve and my heart."