Hear the Men's 'I Saw Her Face,' Pastoral Punk a la Neil Young
From the Brooklyn band’s March ‘New Moon’ LP
Bands that release an album every 12 months aren’t supposed to be as good as Brooklyn garage-punks the Men. Their sublimely violent 2011 set Leave Home made SPIN’s 50 Best Albums list for the year and 2012’s prismatic squaller Open Your Heart was given our Essential stamp — could a hat trick be on the way? Considering what we’ve heard so far of March 5’s New Moon, the answer may be yes. First taste “Electric” was indeed that — a gritty and buzzing shredder brimming with urgent energy. And now we have “I Saw Her Face” to consider in all of its noisily pastoral glory. There’s something in Chris Hansell’s cracking vocals, or maybe that ripping-rolling-raucous guitar solo toward the end, that makes this seem like the punkest distillation yet of Neil Young’s very American fuzz.
