The Men - Tomorrow's Hits (Sacred Bones, 2014)

The Men
Tomorrow's Hits
Sacred Bones
2014

Rating: 7 phone poles out of 10

I certainly don't hate the band The Men have become - I grew up on and continue to love country rock or twangy bar rock or whatever you want to call the music they play these days.  But I really miss the band they used to be, and it can be difficult to reconcile those two feelings - mad that they changed from something I loved, but still appreciative of the current output.  Shit, what is probably the best song on the record, "Another Night," has a horn section! It's hard to fathom this is the same band that put out "Leave Home" just a couple of years ago.

This might end up being one of my favorite records at the end of the year, but I just don't know right now.  The songs are strong, the craftsmanship possibly even stronger.  The record just isn't sitting comfortably with me yet though. 

The Men - New Moon (Sacred Bones, 2013)

The Men
New Moon
Sacred Bones
2013

Rating: 7 Sears portrait studios out of 10

If I didn't already know this album was performed by The Men there is no way in hell I would ever have guessed it correctly after listening to the music.  I saw the group live a couple of years back and they performed with a speed and aggression barely one notch below a hardcore band.  But over the last couple of albums they've morphed into a combination of mid-90s Dinosaur Jr/Sebadoh indie rock and "heartland rock" that nearly edges into Bruce Springsteen territory.  This amount of transformation would piss me off with many bands (My Morning Jacket instantly come to mind), as I'm rarely a fan of change...but with each step the Men have produced such high quality music that I inevitably end up loving it. The only track that really comes close the the Men sound of old is album closer "Supermoon," a stone cold jam that I recently saw them end a live show with...it was epic to put it lightly. 

The Men - Electric 7'' (Sacred Bones, 2013)

The Men
Electric 7''
Sacred Bones
2013

Rating: 7 joke camels out of 10

Highly listenable new seven inch from hot shit band The Men. It's kinda weird how different this band sounds from when I saw them a couple years ago, but I've genuinely liked all their different incarnations so...yeah.  First side "Electric" is an anxious nineties alt-rocker, a wall of guitars that is impossible not to tap your toes to, as cheesy as that sounds.  But I really like the flip side "Water Babies" the best of the two, which I would bet a thousand dollars was a Dinosaur Jr cover if I didn't know better.  Maybe a little less guitar histrionics than J Mascis, but other than that holy shit was I surprised how much the Men sounded like them here.  I could listen to these two songs over and over.  In fact, I just did. 

The Men - Think 7'' (Karmic Swamp, 2011)

The Men
Think 7''
Karmic Swamp
2011

Rating: 7.5 possum tracks out of 10

Yeah, this seven inch by the Men  is a couple of years old but I just got around to listening to it.  Get off my case about it, I've been busy.  Side A, "Think," is one of their typical blistering noise punk tracks, good but not grand.  The joy is in Side B, a cover of Devo's "Gates of Steel" - the greatest Devo song of all time.  Don't argue with me, it's a fact.  They very much own the song, recording a lo-fi punk banger that sounds as if Robert Pollard had a hand in producing it.  Best of all - the band is offering it up for free here.  Got it right from their website, no guilt necessary.  In fact they have a lot of their older out-of-print releases on mediafire free to us fans.  You gotta love a band looking out for us little people. 

The Men - Open Your Heart (Sacred Bones, 2012)

The Men

Open Your Heart

Sacred Bones

2012

Rating: 7 place kickers out of 10

The Men have a driving, almost pummeling noise punk sound that seems to be a rare commodity these days.  It was always big in San Diego-related bands, from Drive Like Jehu to Rocket from the Crypt to Hot Snakes...now only Obits remain as part of the fraternity, and they don't even live in "Whale's Vagina" anymore.  Luckily for us fans of that sound these NYC kids have been a on a tear the last couple of years, with this newest album "Open Your Heart" more of that same awesomeness.  Maybe it's the New York in them but they seem to combine a bit of Sonic Youth influence into their music as well, especially on the album closer "Ex-Dreams."  There are a couple of weird/different songs in "Country Song" and "Candy", songs I wouldn't actually single out to listen to on their own, but that work as a part of the entire package.  

And if you ever get a chance to see them live, do it.  If you think they album is aggressive and puts you on the edge of your seat and makes you want to drive a car fast, live is even more aggro.  You will get sweaty. 

The Men - Leave Home (Sacred Bones, 2011)

The Men
Leave Home
Sacred Bones
2011

Rating: 6 priest skulls out of 10

For example number 45,962 that everything old is new again, the imaginatively named The Men have popped on the scene as this generation's Polvo. Not that the original Polvo isn't still going strong, and preferred by this reviewer, but it was really only a matter of time before this happened. Well, to be perfectly fair it's Polvo crossed with a little surf rock wit ha shit ton of that blown out speaker/fuzz rock sound that everyone and their brother seems to be using these days. Not that I mind it, but let's tone it down a little bit people. Less is more is a statement that works for almost everything. I guess you could throw a Sonic Youth reference in there too, but it would seem a little redundant including them with Polvo.

all that might sound a bit dismissive, but I've actually enjoyed this debut record. I'm guessing they are noisy and awesome live and hope to find out soon. A nice start for sure - they might be wearing their influences a little too heavily, but at least they're pretty good influences.