The Men

Add Date: March 4

Artist: The Men

Album: Tomorrow's Hits

Label: Sacred Bones

Genre: Rock

Comments: I have eschewed my usual critically discerning genre-fying of music upon listening to the latest from the five-piece Brooklyn-based former punk outfit, the Men. My first exposure to the Men was through their critically acclaimed Open Your Heart, which saw a significant digression away from their formerly punk rockerness, substituting gut-punching for surf rock and elements of country. With their 2013 follow-up, New Moon, the band travelled even further along its country roads, distancing themselves from punk roots. Tomorrow's Hits, splits the difference between country and punk, by bringing out the elements of classic rock that were pervasive throughout their other three albums.

"Pearly Gates" is the six-minute single centerpiece of the record, consolidating a sound that has been endeavoring to find itself since 2008. Mark Perro's vocals remain entrenched in the realm of a punk Bob Dylan, but are supported by a musicality influenced in equal parts by Neil Young and the Velvet Underground. While the Men's punkish tendencies are sometimes difficult to articulate, they somehow have managed to skirt much of the nostalgia and sentimentality associated with classic rock in the 70s that gave rise to the punk in the first place. A record not to be missed.

Recommended Tracks: 6, 1, 3, 7
DNP: 4