The Men are another band that likes to play with it’s influences, almost like a child plays with it’s food. A lot of times the splatter is random, but every now and then, what emerges are shapes that defy the randomness aspect, and with Open Your Heart it feels like The Men have done just that. From those that remember Leaving Home, the band definitely had an attractive sound, but they didn’t exactly know how to hone it, or maybe exactly what they were doing with it. This time around, the influences are still random, but are sequenced together so well, making it a more enjoyable listen.

If you’re a person who loves lyrics and vocals on an album, this may not be the album for you. Not that there isn’t some lyrical depth, because you do get that, but it’s not really the band’s focus, nor it’s strength, whether that’s intentional or not. Instead what you will find is a band that is really focused, jams well together, and can melt your face off with a mix of punk, pop, blues-rock, country, psych rock, alt rock, and various other genres, in no particular order.

The band does wear it’s influences on their sleeves at times, most certainly on country-ish tracks like “Country Song” and “Candy.” Other influences include early punk, such as The Stooges, Stiff Little Fingers (If you’ve seen High Fidelity, you know this band!), Buzzcocks, and even Sonic Youth.

“Presence” loses out a bit; yeah it’s a spacey jam, but it’s pretty boring and goes on way too long. The track currently after it, “Ex-Dreams,” almost recognizes that misstep and corrects it a million times over. “Open Your Heart” is a track that emphasizes how much fun these guys must have playing together; it’s just a fun track. As is “Oscillation” which may play with influences better than any of these other tracks, jams hard.

The Men’s sophomore album is a step in a new direction, while not a new world discovery, it feels like the right direction. Stay tuned to see how The Men play with their food next!

Album Rating: Stream It or Digitally Download It

Listening Co-efficient: Active Listen

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