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On the Shelf 195: The Men
May. 29th, 2018 07:09 pmTheir official debut Leave Home was a take-notice blast of Sonic Youth- influenced noise, that pulled from classic 80s post punk. It was released on Sacred Bones records which was known for having a lot of great noise punk bands.
2012's Open Your Heart followed the next year and proved that they were a talented band. It also spoke to the paradox of the Men, and while their spot in History may be underappreciated. Indeed, the chameleon-like tendencies of the band were showing in full force. There were plenty of the earlier influences like Mission of Burma, Fugazi, Husker Du, but at other times they could be ramshackle rock like the Replacements.
Then, it only got weirder from there. 2013's New Moon polished their sound, and if the paisly cover didn't tip you off, there was this polished psychedelic sound as if the band was listening to nonstop REM and Dinosaur, Jr. Tomorrow's Hits took that even further, and really embraced a southern rock sound. In fact, probably the most obvious touchpoint was Tom Petty. The Men were embracing the noisier elements of 70s FM rock. While Springsteen is an obvious influence on many alt rock bands, it was unexpected by anyone who had ever heard Leave Home, that they would record an album that was more Street Survivors than Daydream Nation.
Yet, all of these records are nearly perfect. Though they invoke legendary predecessors, if the Men weren't that good, they would have sunk into the alt-rock ether. Instead, they were looking back at four albums in as many years that stands up to anyone, with one (at least near)classic in Open Your Heart.
It was just they sounded more like a band that would appear on The Old Grey Whistle Test than a band that might open for The Swans.
But they never stayed in one spot for long. In an unpredictable move Neil Young would be proud of, they released Devil Music, which as its name and cover implied, sounded like a hellish noise album as if the last five years had never happened. They had moved away from Sacred Bones to release the album on their own, but the album invoked the No Wave-noise worshipping Sacred Bones sound.
So, who knows what to expect with Drift? If anything, Drift is 'all of the above'. I saw one comparison to Dylan, but it's not really accurate.
Now, the second track "When i held you in my Arms" is very much a late 90s Dylan sounding song (pitchfork compares it to Nick Cave) but you have to get past opener "Maybe Im Crazy" which is a noisefest with pulsing beat such that could probably be considered industrial.
Thus, the album hardly sounds like the same band twice. "Killed Someone" is vintage The Men, as the name implies the distorted garage mess it is. "Rose on Top of the World" is vintage college rock like REM or the Meat Puppets poppiest moments. "Secret Light" gets Doors comparisons because of the organ and doesn't match any of the previous mentioned tunes.
Whatever, it is, and it's everything. It is a pretty enjoyable return to form. The critics have tired of the novelty, but these are really good songs that still deserve an audience.
2012's Open Your Heart followed the next year and proved that they were a talented band. It also spoke to the paradox of the Men, and while their spot in History may be underappreciated. Indeed, the chameleon-like tendencies of the band were showing in full force. There were plenty of the earlier influences like Mission of Burma, Fugazi, Husker Du, but at other times they could be ramshackle rock like the Replacements.
Then, it only got weirder from there. 2013's New Moon polished their sound, and if the paisly cover didn't tip you off, there was this polished psychedelic sound as if the band was listening to nonstop REM and Dinosaur, Jr. Tomorrow's Hits took that even further, and really embraced a southern rock sound. In fact, probably the most obvious touchpoint was Tom Petty. The Men were embracing the noisier elements of 70s FM rock. While Springsteen is an obvious influence on many alt rock bands, it was unexpected by anyone who had ever heard Leave Home, that they would record an album that was more Street Survivors than Daydream Nation.
Yet, all of these records are nearly perfect. Though they invoke legendary predecessors, if the Men weren't that good, they would have sunk into the alt-rock ether. Instead, they were looking back at four albums in as many years that stands up to anyone, with one (at least near)classic in Open Your Heart.
It was just they sounded more like a band that would appear on The Old Grey Whistle Test than a band that might open for The Swans.
But they never stayed in one spot for long. In an unpredictable move Neil Young would be proud of, they released Devil Music, which as its name and cover implied, sounded like a hellish noise album as if the last five years had never happened. They had moved away from Sacred Bones to release the album on their own, but the album invoked the No Wave-noise worshipping Sacred Bones sound.
So, who knows what to expect with Drift? If anything, Drift is 'all of the above'. I saw one comparison to Dylan, but it's not really accurate.
Now, the second track "When i held you in my Arms" is very much a late 90s Dylan sounding song (pitchfork compares it to Nick Cave) but you have to get past opener "Maybe Im Crazy" which is a noisefest with pulsing beat such that could probably be considered industrial.
Thus, the album hardly sounds like the same band twice. "Killed Someone" is vintage The Men, as the name implies the distorted garage mess it is. "Rose on Top of the World" is vintage college rock like REM or the Meat Puppets poppiest moments. "Secret Light" gets Doors comparisons because of the organ and doesn't match any of the previous mentioned tunes.
Whatever, it is, and it's everything. It is a pretty enjoyable return to form. The critics have tired of the novelty, but these are really good songs that still deserve an audience.
