The Men (punk band)

The Men are a rock band from Brooklyn, formed in 2008.[4] The band consists of Mark Perro (vocals, guitar, keys), Nick Chiericozzi (vocals, guitar, saxophone), Rich Samis (drums), and Kevin Faulkner (Bass).

This article is about the punk band. For other bands of this or similar names (including the unrelated band/collective also from Brooklyn), see The Men.
The Men
Background information
OriginBrooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genres
Years active2008–present
LabelsSacred Bones
Members
  • Nick Chiericozzi
  • Mark Perro
  • Rich Samis
  • Kevin Faulkner
Past members
  • Chris Hansell
  • Ben Greenberg
Websitewearethemen.blogspot.com

The band has produced eight studio albums. The Men's first two albums, Immaculada (2010) and Leave Home (2011), were noted for their abrasive, noise rock sound. The band gained recognition for their third album Open Your Heart (2012), which was released to mostly positive reviews, including a Best New Music designation from Pitchfork.[5] Open Your Heart was also noted for being more accessible than the previous two albums, incorporating influences from country music and surf rock. The band's follow-up albums, New Moon (2013) and Tomorrow's Hits (2014), continued down the path set by Open Your Heart, with more melodic songs and fewer noise rock influences.

History

Formation and Leave Home (2008-11)

The Men was formed by Nick Chiericozzi, Chris Hansell, and Mark Perro in 2008 in Brooklyn.[3] After recording a demo tape and a 12" EP, they self-released their first album, Immaculada, in 2010 and their first widely available album, Leave Home, on Sacred Bones Records in 2011.[4][6] Leave Home received mostly positive reviews, with one critic describing the album as "[..] one of the most gut-punched and brain-addled rock records to arrive in quite some time."[7][8] Later in 2011, Ben Greenberg, who engineered Leave Home, replaced bassist Chris Hansell after Hansell left the band.[4][9][10]

Open Your Heart (2012)

The Men released their follow-up album Open Your Heart on March 6, 2012.[4] Considered to be a more accessible album than Leave Home, the band incorporated surf rock, country music and pop structures into the album.[4][11] Open Your Heart received critical acclaim, including a Best New Music designation from Pitchfork.[5][12] One critic wrote "With Open Your Heart, The Men have taken that breath. And it’s only made their hearts beat faster."[13]

The band performed at the 2012 South by Southwest music festival.[14]

"Open Your Heart" was the last record to feature bass player Chris Hansell.[15]

The song "Turn It Around" was featured in a Rockstar Games video game, "Grand Theft Auto V", on the Indie Rock station, "Vinewood Boulevard Radio", in Exclusive to Next Gen Editions.[16]

New Moon (2013)

The Men released their fourth full-length album, New Moon, on March 5, 2013.[17] The album, which was recorded in Big Indian, New York, continued the down the path established by Open Your Heart, incorporating more classic and country rock influences and fewer noise rock elements.[18] One critic described the album's sound as "akin to Dinosaur Jr. on a serious Tom Petty kick."[18]

Compared with Open Your Heart, critical reaction was more mixed for New Moon. One of the main criticism directed at New Moon was the album's lack of focus and cohesion.[19][20][21] For the most part, however, the album received mostly positive reviews, with one writer describing New Moon as "one of those excellent albums that’s going to divide opinion, especially among long-standing fans of the band."[21][22]

The Men released Campfire Songs EP on October 15, 2013. The EP was recorded around a campfire in Upstate New York during the band's recording session for New Moon.[23]

Tomorrow's Hits (2014) & Dream Police LP

On December 3, 2013, the band announced their fifth studio album, Tomorrow's Hits. The album was released March 4, 2014 and was recorded by Ben Greenberg at Strange Weather studio in Brooklyn.[24] Like with their previous two albums, Tomorrow's Hits mixed together punk rock and classic rock influences.[25] That same day, the band shared a video for the song "Pearly Gates". On November 10, 2014, Nick Chiericozzi and Mark Perro have released an LP on Sacred Bones records entitled, Hypnotized as Dream Police.[26][27]

Devil Music (2016)

On September 12, 2016, the band announced their sixth album, Devil Music.[28]

Musical style

The Men's musical style has been described as post-hardcore, punk rock, neo-psychedelia and post-punk.[3] Influences for the Men include the Replacements, Buzzcocks, Fugazi and the Velvet Underground.[29] For the band's third and fourth full-length albums (Open Your Heart and New Moon), the band incorporated influences from country music, classic rock, Americana, doo-wop and surf rock.[20][30] Nick Chiericozzi attributed the band's changing sound to their touring, saying "You start to listen to different stuff; it changes a lot because we were touring a lot. We were going to places like the UK and all over the world. You can’t help but not be changed by that."[31]

Band members

Discography

Albums
  • Immaculada (2010), We Are the Men Records / Deranged
  • Leave Home (2011), Sacred Bones
  • Open Your Heart (2012), Sacred Bones
  • New Moon (2013), Sacred Bones
  • Tomorrow's Hits (2014), Sacred Bones
  • Devil Music (2016), We Are the Men Records
  • Drift (2018), Sacred Bones
  • Mercy (2020), Sacred Bones
  • New York City (2023), Fuzz Club Records

EPs
  • We Are the Men (2009), self-released
  • Campfire Songs (2013), Sacred Bones

Singles
  • "Think" b/w "Gates of Steel" (2011)
  • "Jennifer" b/w "New Pop", Matador Singles Club
  • "Electric" b/w "Water Babies" (2013), Sacred Bones

Cassettes
  • "Captain Ahab" b/w "Wasted" (2010)
  • Split w/ Nomos (2010)

References
  1. Gentile, John (February 3, 2014). "The Men Reinvent Yet Again for 'Another Night' - Song Premiere". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  2. Sindra, Tim. Leave Home - The Men. Allmusic. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  3. The Men - Music Biography. Allmusic. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  4. Stosuy, Brandon. The Men. Pitchfork. 24 January 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  5. Open Your Heart reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  6. The Men: Discography. Blogspot. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  7. Ryan, Will. Album Review: The Men - Leave Home. Beats Per Minute. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  8. Critic Reviews for Leave Home. Metacritic. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  9. Sundermann, Eric. The Men Get Out of the Gutter. Village Voice.com. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  10. Leave Home - The Men: Credits. Allmusic. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  11. Pelly, Jenn. The Men Announce New Album. Pitchfork. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  12. Cohen, Ian. The Men: Open Your Heart. Pitchfork. 5 March 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  13. Heller, Jason. The Men: Open Your Heart. The A.V. Club. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  14. The Men. South by Southwest. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  15. "Chris Hansell". Discogs. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  16. Badwool, Andy. "Vinewood Boulevard Radio | GTA 5 Radio Stations Songs & Tracklist". GTA Base. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
  17. Pelly, Jenn. The Men Announce New Album New Moon, Listen to New Track "Electric" Now. Pitchfork. 9 January 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  18. Heaney, Gregory. New Moon - The Men. Allmusic. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  19. Leedham, Robert. The Men - New Moon Archived 2013-03-02 at the Wayback Machine. Drowned in Sound. 4 March 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  20. Maizner, Jordan. The Men: New Moon. Slant Magazine. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
  21. Critic Reviews for New Moon. Metacritic. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  22. Messana, Matt. The Men: New Moon. Popmatters. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  23. Reily, Dan. The Men's 'Campfire Songs' EP Actually Recorded by a Campfire. Spin. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  24. Pelly, Jenn. The Men Announce New Album, Tomorrow's Hits. Pitchfork. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  25. Breihan, Tom. Album Of The Week: The Men Tomorrow’s Hits. Stereogum. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  26. Beauchemin, Molly. Video: The Men: "Pearly Gates". Pitchfork. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  27. "Dream Police: Hypnotized Album Review - Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  28. Roffman, Michael. The Men announce new album Devil Music, share erratic single “Lion’s Den” — listen. Consequence of Sound. 12 September 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  29. Gotrich, Lars. The Men: Bursting At The Seams. NPR. 24 January 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  30. McCallum, Robert. Leave Your Heart At Home: An Interview With The Men. The Quietus. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  31. Young, Martyn. The Men: ‘We Didn’t Know We Had This Record In Us’. This Is Fake DIY. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  32. The Men: New Moon. Sacred Bones Records. 14 February 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
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