Album Review: Menorah’s Sycascend

Lucas Holloway 

Local Music Journalist 

In the midst of a musical renaissance throughout the greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor, it is difficult to stand out against a multitude of phenomenal acts and sounds. While the central Texas scene is defined by the innovation of fringe genres, whether looking at the resurgence of new shoegaze acts, punk and psychedelia; a band from San Antonio is making their hometown proud through a refreshing change of pace, stressing the importance of incredible songwriting, energy, and talent.   

Menorah is a self-described Alternative rock band that was founded after singer, Jacob, and guitarist, Christian, collaborated following a project that fizzled out in 2021. The group initially started as a duo until they met their bassist, Nas, and their original drummer at a party, before Isaac took over on the drums.

As evident by an archive of past shows on their Instagram account, @menorahcult, Menorah has been playing sets for considerable audiences well before their first studio single release “La Llorona” in 2023. Given a limited history of releases, this EP was highly anticipated. The lighting they create at their house shows gave little in the way of doubt for a potentially monumental release for the San Antonio alt scene, and Menorah has certainly proven that to be true, even exceeding expectations. 

Sycascend is a four song EP that was released by the group on June 7, following the release of their single “Bug,” about two and a half weeks earlier. I was lucky enough to hear about this release at the suggestion of my friend and Alamo City’s very own musical encyclopedia, Nick G of Scrambled Eggs and BEWARE OF DOG. To add icing to the cake, Menorah was extremely welcoming to my questions just hours before they were set to perform at San Marcos’ own, Alchemy Records.  

The band says they were, “really motivated to get an EP out there, which really inspired [them] to put in the best product [they] could with what [they] had.” They noted that they “came into the studio having a semi-idea of what [they] wanted to record but being around so much equipment made [them] think more experimental with [their] sounds.” 

Upon my first listening of Sycascend, I was incredibly excited to hear the vocals at the front of the mix. Often the releases we hear from local bands tend to have very subdued, textural vocals that typically blend with the guitars. The vocals throughout this EP are very much the soul of the music here, with exemplary lyrics and incredibly strong accompaniment from the other elements of the band. The band notes that their songwriting process, “usually starts with a guitar riff or a vocal melody [that they] build upon…” After listening to Sycascend a few more times, that fact materialized in my mind as I found myself wanting a bit more prominence from the rhythm section. 

Though Sycascend does a good job of pacing Menorah’s sound with an exciting introduction from “Bug,” a showcase of their tonal contrast with the track “Make Like Fog,” an aptly named ballad, “Bricked Up,” and an explosive closer, “Wicked Sycamore”; I felt like I just wanted one more track after the last, most likely as testament to the enjoyment I got from the rest of the EP. 

If I learned a few things from listening to Sycascend on loop these past few days, it is that A.) I need to go to a Menorah show, B.) We really do not know what is in the water in San Antonio, and C.) This is how the Seattle alt rock scene must have felt at the beginning of the 1990s. Menorah is a group that needs to be on your radar, and speaking on behalf of fans throughout central Texas, we are so stoked for what is next!