I like music. I have a band. I’m gonna tell you all about it.
What I look for in rock: guitars, melody, guitars, energy, guitars, and guitars.
The Men are chameleons. And I mean that in the nicest way.
Why to I start with such a lukewarmly divisive statement? Because their new album New Moon continues in their grand tradition of channeling other artists. A bit of Young and The Band this time around. All chopped up and tossed with their own brand of sonic vinaigrette.
It’s the job of every band, young and old, to eat the dead. Especially young, vibrant bands. In fact, just this week I described Parquet Courts to my buddy Art thusly: “Their first song has an entirely Timbuk3 vibe. Seriously. These kids today know not what they do*.”
Sitting down to learn the entire cannon of underground music before writing a single note is not the way to prolific songwriting. Besides, the Ramones took the only three chords worth caring about ages ago.
So on to the generically titled The Men/New Moon. Still a few oasis of sonic assaults, but somebody cranked up the country rock knob in places. With both positive and negative results. There are no train wrecks (always appreciated).
In the end, The Men sound like they’re riding a wave of enthusiasm, buoyed by moderate success and novelty. This feeds their infectious energy. So what if their songs are a bit slight, or may have been heard somewhere before? I don’t care. I like this album.
*Or maybe they do?