Ramona Falls - Prophet (2012)

Prophet is the second album by Ramona Falls, the moniker of Brent Knopf, better known for being one third of the band Menomena. Ramona Falls is an indie rock project founded by Brent Knopf and based in Portland, Oregon. The band name is taken from a waterfall located near Mt. Hood, a place where Knopf used to hike as a child. Brent Knopf co-founded Menomena before departing in 2011, and is also one-half of EL VY, a collaboration with The National's Matt Berninger.

Prophet was released on May 1, 2012 and reached #28 on Billboard's Heatseaker Albums chart on May 19. Knopf took a direction on Prophet that was less centered on the acoustic guitar and focused on expanding the band's sound.

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 they're 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.''


Track List:
01 Bodies of Water
02 The Space Between Lightning and Thunder
03 Spore
04 Divide by Zero
05 Archimedes Plutonium
06 Sqworm
07 Fingerhold
08 If i Equals u
09 Brevony
10 Proof
11 Helium