Phenomenal Enon

Careening between synthy electro-rock and noisy experimentation, Enon’s musical direction has always been a moving target, which stands as the band’s strength and point of consistency.

Enon emerged after John Schmersal’s earlier group, Brainiac, disbanded in 1997. He then channeled its hyperactivity into the first Enon incarnation, which consisted of Schmersal and two members of Skeleton Key, Steve Calhoon and Rick Lee.

By early 2000, Schmersal had asked Toko Yasuda (formerly of The Lapse) to join as the bass player— almost immediately, she started singing and playing keyboards, too—and Matt Schulz (an old friend from Dayton, Ohio) to take over on drums after Calhoon left. Enon’s post-punk dynamism cohered around Toko Yasuda’s high-pitched, dreamy voice alternating with John Schmersal’s unpredictable vocals, and when Lee departed a few years later, the group became a trio. Enon’s newest material, which the three recently finished recording, furthers the group’s pursuit of change.

“It seems more aggressive. I don’t want to say it’s more punk, but it kind of is,” Schulz explains, referring to the new album’s emphasis on a bass-guitar-drums structure. “The energy was high because everything was fresh and rock-based.”

In January, Enon had approached Touch and Go about putting out an album this year, and the label agreed to an October release. But this schedule required Enon to record in February and finish the album by the end of April. “It was crazy,” he explains. “Literally, we practiced a couple of times and it was like, ‘Let’s record.’ And then it was, ‘OK, we’re doing it next week.’”

But this lightning-fast decision to lay down the six songs they had written and pull together additional tracks for the as-yet-untitled album in only two days in Brooklyn (with Nicholas Vernhes at Rare Book Room, where Black Dice and Les Savy Fav among others have recorded) only amped up the creative process, Schulz says. “You can work on a record forever and never be done with it, but I like the fact of your initial reaction to a musical idea.”

Alongside Enon, Schmersal’s been working on soundtracks and other music for the Sundance Channel, Yasuda’s pursuing commercial projects and Schulz has been playing with The Boggs and Holy Fuck. Although Schulz lives in Brooklyn, Schmersal and Yasuda moved to Philadelphia in 2005 and, because of hectic schedules and scattered locations, Enon chose to cancel a tour with Of Montreal in January in order to make time to record.

“We realized at the last minute that if we went on tour, there was no way we were going to be able to put a record out this year,” Schulz  says. “Once we had an opportunity to work on it finally, it was like, ‘All right, let’s do Enon.’”

April 13, Mercury Lounge, 217 E. Houston St. (at Ave. A), 212-260-4700; 9, $10.