At the end of last year, I made my love for The Men known via a post on “Bataille” – a stand-out from their blitzkrieg of an LP, Leave Home – and, before I could even take that out of heavy rotation, the band has dropped another stellar album, Open Your Heart.  In the last few months, the rest of the music-loving world seems to have caught up and The Men are currently enjoying a tidal wave of much deserved love and praise.  Open Your Heart trades in some of Leave Home‘s white knuckle fury for bruised Americana and more expansive melodies.  Although, you still won’t mistake The Men for anyone else.  The title track, a whirlwind love song that roughs up The Buzzcocks’ “What Do I Get?”, is the most accessible, catchy thing they’ve produced to date.  Closing track “Ex-Dreams” is closer to the sprawling, psych-punk epics on Leave Home and has justly earned more than a few comparisons to Daydream Nation-era Sonic Youth. Also worth mentioning: the band recently shared with SPIN some of their maybe-unexpected influences which included Gram Parsons, Big Star and The Rolling Stones.

Open Your Heart is out now via Sacred Bones.

Download MP3: “Open Your Heart”

Download MP3: “Ex-Dreams”