In a recent Village Voice article profiling The Men, one member of the group, when discussing which Bonnaroo acts he’d be most excited to see, states "Tom Petty. Need I say more?” This is a somewhat surprising sentiment coming from one of The Men, a group more renowned for its so scuzzed-up punk rock than its love of defining classic rock artists such as Petty. However, since the release of their first full-length, Leave Home, The Men have started to branch out into more eclectic (some would say traditional) musical territory, beginning with their Pitchfork-approved previous release, Open Your Heart. On that album, The Men began embracing the guitar heroics of bands like Led Zeppelin, while keeping themselves firmly steeped in the murky production that had defined their sound from the beginning. On New Moon, their latest record, and fourth release in as many years, The Men go even further, taking off in many different directions, never settling down anywhere. The result is wildly uneven, but when successful offers up some of the finest music of the young year.
Right from the first song, “Open The Door,” it’s apparent that The Men are starting to take a detour away from their signature sound, with bouncy pianos and pretty harmony vocals giving the tune a Nilsson meets The Band vibe. Being that New Moon was recorded in Big Indian, NY, only a half hour away from Woodstock, comparisons to The Band seem apt, even sought after. In fact, throughout the first half of New Moon, The Men lean towards a folksier sound overall, perhaps emboldened by their surroundings. It’s a definite left turn for these guys, but “Open The Door” turns out to be one of their best songs to date. For the first time, lead vocals aren’t buried in the mix, and singers Mark Perro and Nick Chierricozzi sound warmer and more endearing than on any of their previous records. In addition, new member Ben Greenberg brings his multi-instrumentalist talents to the band, adding shades and texture to a band that formerly relied solely on power.
That power remains, but tempered by more professional songwriting. “Half Angel Half Light” is a prime example of this, an early standout that still has all of The Men’s trademarks, but now couched in a hooky melody propelled by acoustic guitars that are mixed louder than the electric ones, until the memorable chorus, where a wah-wah guitar takes over. Also, a sense of melancholy runs through the song, and New Moon as a whole, whereas previous Men songs were mostly exuberant, particularly on Open Your Heart. “Without A Face” harkens back to more familiar territory, but with new dynamic kinks thrown in, bass and vocal driven verses giving way to sudden outbursts of distortion, with harmonica adding interesting texture to the usual Men cacophony.
“The Seeds” (whose song title is a tribute to legendary proto-punks The Seeds, perhaps?) begins with a disarming sloppy groove, but soon settles into one of the best songs on New Moon, an oddly affecting folk-rock song reminiscent of early R.E.M., with yearning harmonies and a chorus rife with regret, with Chiericozzi lamenting “The rake of time, shifting the seeds of my prime.” Acoustic guitars and mandolin figure prominently here, all adding up to a truly standout track, and one of the best songs so far this year. The high quality carries through to the next song, “I Saw Her Face,” the record’s second single. One of the more convincing takes on the signature sound of Neil Young and Crazy Horse in their prime, “I Saw Her Face” sounds like an alternate universe version of “Down By The River” from their classic Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969), right down to the two chord vamping and messy but emotional lead guitar playing. Taken together, these first five songs represent a new high point for The Men, who are showing a surprising amount of growth given their limited discography and punk roots.
Which makes New Moon’s retreat to formula in its second half somewhat disappointing, at least to this writer. Whichever doorways were opened up at the beginning of the record are slammed shut here, reverting to the wall of sound tactics employed on every previous Men release, which tends to get exhausting in long blocks. That doesn’t mean there aren’t standouts along the way, including “Electric,” the record’s first single, which would have fit comfortably on Open Your Heart, and “Bird Song,” a Fender Rhodes driven country ballad reminiscent of the sort of thing The Rolling Stones pulled off on Black And Blue (1976). However, by the time album closer “Supermoon,” eight minutes of wailing sirens and distortion, arrives, there’s more of an urge to return to the first half of the record, and stay there.
New Moon represents a sizable leap forward for The Men. It’s not a perfect record by any means, but the high points are high enough to justify giving this release a shot. Word is The Men have already recorded the follow up to New Moon. One can only hope they continue to take detours, as opposed to staying on the path they have forged for themselves already.
Grade: A-
Grade: A-
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