The Men, “Devil Music”
Available: Friday, Nov. 11 at your local independent record store via Sacred Bones/We Are The Men Records, digitally and a current run of 2,000 hand silk-screened versions on vinyl.
Four years back, the Brooklyn, New York-based rock band The Men made what I considered at the time to be the best album of 2012. “Open Your Heart” (their third record) was, and is, a tremendous album that ran the gamut stylistically of rock ’n’ roll: Heavy-handed reverb-pedal surf soaked in country-proto- and post-punk, and the best parts of ’90s era indie/alt-rock.
This past September, the blogosphere informed me of a forthcoming record. As I usually do with releases that I am anticipating, I purposely ignored early singles so as to hear them within the context of the full album. It might be considered an antiquated approach by today’s standards, but I’m alright with it. The opener, “Dreamer,” is a blistering, echo-heavy, pacesetter that you can’t quite seem to turn up loud enough. The skronk and squelch of the sax-ah-maphone welcomingly assaults you on “Lion’s Den” and twists your insides until relenting, briefly, at album midway point, “Patterns.” For those of us that NEED music made loud with cymbals crashing and guitars screeching, enjoy one of the year’s finest in “Devils Music”.
Recommended for fans of The Replacements, Buzzcocks, The Gun Club, MC5, Pere Ubu, or Television.
Jon E. Lynch[email protected]
