The Legend of The Men
Back in the dark ages of 2012, things were looking dire for Brooklyn rock dudes The Men. Mighty once, they had lost their way and fallen on hard times. They put out their third album last year, no one really wrote about it, and they probably played a few shows here and there at a handful of university student union halls. A few stalwart fans probably came out, but generally, I don’t think anyone would have been surprised if the band sullenly slinked away into annoying solo-project land in 2013. From this reporter’s iron-clad point of view, it was looking very bleak indeed.
BUT LO! Just when things looked their bleakest, A HUGE, multi-bazillion-dollar magazine called Tiny Mix Tapes zoomed in from on high and saw fit to bestow that 2012 album the tremendous accolade of being its 36th favorite album of the year! Literally overnight, everything changed for The Men, and they found themselves suddenly equipped with the opportunity to make a fourth album for the Sacred Bones label in 2013. Thus it has come to pass that The Men proudly present New Moon, an intensely personal and wholly immersive triumph of underdog grit and TMT facilitation. According to the press release, it was recorded in a converted “studio home” that the band constructed in the upstate New York village of Big Indian and once again features guitarists Nick Chiericozzi and Mark Perro and drummer Rich Samis (all fresh from the last record), as well as friend and producer Ben Greenberg on full-time bass duties and Kevin Faulkner “dreaming aloud on lap steel” (and let me hereby be the first to pretend that dreaming aloud on a lap steel doesn’t sound terrible).
Speaking of off-beat, “keepin’ it fresh for album #4” instrumentation choices, it seems like we can expect such affectations as “piano, mandolin, harmonica, four-part vocal harmonies and even no-input harsh noise.” And yes, in case you were wondering, “New Moon is simultaneously an expansion of palette and a contraction of focus. It is a love letter devoted in bowed humility to the grand continuum, exposing the hoax of the great divide.” Hmm. I’m starting to regret giving TMT full credit for this album’s existence all of a sudden… oh well. Either way, the first single, “Electric,” will be out on 7-inch vinyl on January 22. Check it out below (as well as a bunch of 2013 tourdates), and do not, I repeat, DO NOT, write us any hate mail if you don’t like it. Love mail if you DO like it is fine.
New Moon tracklisting:
01. Open the Door
02. Half Angel Half Light
03. Without a Face
04. The Seeds
05. I Saw Her Face
06. High and Lonesome
07. The Brass
08. Electric
09. I See No One
10. Birdsong
11. Freaky
12. Supermoon
Tourdates:
01.28.13 - Auckland, New Zealand - Silo Park
01.30.13 - Sydney, Australia - Goodgod Small Club *
01-31.13 - Wollongong, Australia - Beaches Thirroul *
02.01.13 - Brisbane, Australia - Laneway Festival
02.02.13 - Sydney, Australia - Laneway Festival
02.03.13 - Melbourne, Australia - Laneway Festival
02.06.13 - Melbourne, Australia - Northcote Social Club
02.08.13 - Adelaide, Australia - Laneway Festival
02.09.13 - Perth, Australia - Laneway Festival
03.07.13 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
03.09.13 - Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
03.14.13 - Paris, France - Point FMR
03.15.13 - Kortrijk, Belgium - De Kreun
03.16.13 - Bruxelles, Belgium - Magasin 4
03.17.13 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
03.18.13 - London, UK - Rough Trade
03.19.13 - London, UK - Garage
03.20.13 - Nijmigen, Netherlands - Merlyn
03.21.13 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Stengade
03.22.13 - Berlin, Germany - Festaal
03.23.13 - Prague, Czech Republic - 007 Club
03.24.13 - Vienna, Austria - Arena
03.25.13 - Budapest, Hungary - Gozsdu Mano Klub
03.26.13 - Ljubljana, Slovenia - Menza
03.27.13 - Zagreb, Croatia - Club Mocvara
03.28.13 - Belgrade, Serbia - Grad Beograd
03.29.13 - Skopje, Macedonia - Menza Pro Koritu
03.30.13 - Tessaloniki, Greece - 8 Ball Club
03.31.13 - Athens, Greece - AN Club
05.31.13 - Austin, TX - Chaos in Tejas
06.01.13 - Austin, TX - Chaos in Tejas
* Royal Headache
• The Men: http://wearethemen.blogspot.com
• Sacred Bones: http://www.sacredbonesrecords.com
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