A few months ago we ran an article about Milwaukee's Menlo and their upcoming release. We reprise it here on the eve of the CD release party for the disc, titled "The Stars Are Held By Strings" and released by Sparkler Records. The release party takes place Thurs., Aug. 15 at The Globe East, 2028 E. North Ave. Spill also performs at the 9:30 p.m. show.

The lights are schizophrenic at The Globe this particular Friday evening. Gregory Borden is working the controls tonight.

The reds, blues and yellows are working overtime as Borden performs his magic. Not only was it his birthday today, his band Menlo just got done playing an amazing set. The lead singer, prominently wearing his Death Cab For Cutie t-shirt, now awaits the review on his light show.

"It was good, but it was starting to hurt my eyes," the singer on stage tells Borden. Despite this criticism, he stands by his work and considers his latest experiment a success.

Experimentation is one of the keys to Menlo's success, and that success continues to grow. The band's growing fan base will soon be treated to "The Stars Are Held On By Strings," a full-length CD of Menlo's work.

Drummer Joe Kirschling considers the upcoming album one of the bands greatest accomplishments. "We got it done in four days," he boasts, "Those 10 songs are like masterpieces to us."

The band also had the opportunity work with producer Keith Cleversley, who has also worked with such high-profile bands as Flaming Lips and Milwaukee band Dorian Gray.

"He only wants to work with bands that he believes in," Borden says, "It was amazing to work with someone of that caliber after being together a year."

It was last February to be exact. Borden, guitar player Thom Geibel and bassist Don Ellingsen met through a UW-Milwaukee social group. Kirschling was found through a mutual friend.

A month later, the band reworked and recorded some of Borden's songs in Kirschling's basement. The result was the critically acclaimed EP "If I Were You, and You Were Me," which established the band in the Milwaukee music scene as an inventive and innovative outfit.

It was this aspiration to innovation that inspired Borden to dub the group Menlo, which is a reference to Thomas Edison's laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey (we thought it was a tribute to Shorewood's leafiest boulevard. -ed.).

"We are being experimental but not being way out there," Borden says. "We are testing the boundaries of trying to be interesting and poppy with lyrics people can really identify with."

Last fall, Menlo starting making numerous appearances in the Milwaukee area. These performances were heavily promoted by the band, with artistic flyers created by Borden, who is a graphic designer.

Soon, what began as four guys playing songs on a stage grew into an experience for the audience, too. They started incorporating an artistic slideshow into a sweeping effect-laden guitar sound influenced by not only Radiohead and Travis, but also Weezer and The Smashing Pumpkins.

"A show is much more than music itself. It's the whole experience," Borden says. "When they come in, we want them to be in an element we created. When they leave, they are a lot more impressed than just seeing four guys on stage."

The band's busy schedule was starting to take its toll on Ellingsen, and he departed. Now Menlo has a bass player filling in for shows, while they search for a replacement.

"It's hard to find the right fit," says Borden, "We want them to know what we want to do and like what we are doing."

Those familiar with Menlo's live shows are catching on to what Geibel calls "the secret formula." For instance, the song "(Battlestar) Galactica" plays with the listener's idea of the structure of the song by constantly building to a chorus that only comes until the very end.

"We are not trying to fight structure," claims Kirschling. Borden elaborates, "People say we are unpredictable," Borden elaborates, "we just go with whatever the song is calling for."

The new album is going to be released by the recently-created local label Sparkler Records. Sparkler, Geibel says, is all about promoting unity between local bands. The label will soon have its bands, including Menlo, working together to promote themselves in showcases for the label's artists.

The band sees Sparkler's vision important for the up-and-coming local music scene. "We need a sense of community. I went to Riversplash, and it was great, but it was all cover bands like The Love Monkeys there," Borden says, "That's cool because it's like background music at a place like that, but Milwaukee has to have a little more confidence in its music scene.

"We see the scene growing, and us being a part of it. Ascetically, things around here are getting cooler. Everything -- the Art Museum, the Third Ward, the music scene -- is just being taken to the next level."

Soon, we will see Menlo there, too.

Menlo plays Sat., June 8 at 10 p.m. at the Cactus Club, with Sparkler labelmates Capital 8 and Strangest Places. For more on Menlo, visit www.menlomusic.com.