The Men follow up their revered album 'Open Your Heart' with fourth full length 'New Moon' on Sacred Bones Records. The Brooklyn five piece are; Nick Chiericozzi, Ben Greengerg, Kevin Faulkner, Mark Perro and Rich Samis who play out savage guitars, drums and elastic bass. This new record brilliantly captures what some already know about The Men, that they lay bare their influences whilst creating something entirely fresh and thrilling. These twelve songs give a nod to Punk, Country and Rock in an album that feels like their most intimate work to date. To make 'New Moon' The Men migrated to Big Indian, NY in early 2012 and built their own backwoods studio. This approach to creating a secluded environment and drawing from primitive elements is wonderfully reflected in the recordings, best shown in opener "Open The Door". With a warm melody being keyed away on a piano alongside acoustic guitars a mandolin and lap steel it's quintessentially as country as it gets. The album morphs into bursts rock with songs like "Without A Face", "The Brass" and one of my faves & first single taken from the record "Electric". While 'New Moon' still has those eye-popping rock numbers The Men are known and loved for don't be surprised to hear a few new things thrown into the mix. With a relentless tour schedule and a new album every twelve months I'm happy it seems there's no stopping The Men. Lee Ronaldo recently told Uncut, "They remind me of the energy NY bands had when Sonic Youth started out. Totally fierce...rocking out." ...accolades don't come much higher than that in my book.
The Men are playing Rough Trade East Monday 18th for an instore and then the following day on the 19th at the Garage - definitely try and catch them if you can!
