{"id":16450,"date":"2025-02-26T19:47:03","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T19:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/?p=16450"},"modified":"2025-02-26T20:34:52","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T20:34:52","slug":"the-men-buyer-beware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eyeplug.net\/magazine\/the-men-buyer-beware\/","title":{"rendered":"The Men ‘Buyer Beware’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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I have to confess to not being aware of The Men<\/a> until Fuzz Club<\/a> released their \u2018New York City\u2019 record in 2023 and the album length \u2018Sessions\u2019 shortly after. Turns out they\u2019ve been around for a good while and released a wealth of music; listening back to older productions they\u2019ve got a distinctive sound, but it never seems to stay the same and that\u2019s evident here as this isn\u2019t like recent outings at all and it seems they get even more direct and focussed with time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We blast off with the furious \u2018Pony\u2019 and following that you get another 12 short sharp shocks of high voltage rock \u2018n\u2019 roll, all of it electrifying, raw and primal. The spirit of early proto punk is evident throughout, back when the emphasis was on dirty grinding rock \u2018n\u2019 roll with catchy tunes \u2013 think Heartbreakers, MC5 and Stooges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It feels like a much-needed release of pent-up frustration; chunky guitar riffs, short spiky solos and a manic rhythm section, drums furious and explosive (almost D-beat on \u2018Control\u2019). The gravelly vocals give a strong feel of strangled desperation, weatherbeaten and damaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s spectral boogie rock piano buried in a couple of tracks, and some rich saxophone in the title track and everything is infused with a ragged bluesy undercurrent. The New Yorkers hardly let up the pummelling pace except for on the menacing 70s satanic doom riffing of \u2018The Path\u2019 and \u2018Get My Soul\u2019 and on the slightly more chilled scuzzy psych pop of \u2018Charm\u2019 with guest  vocals from Jessica Poplawski and a hint of keyboards that cut through the primitive thunder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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