The Men Return With Ferocious New York City
Hard-charging group’s ninth album returns to the noisy sound of their early LPs

Whatever else The Men have been over the years—and the New York band known for tough, noisy garage rock songs has done several other things besides—they’ve never been half-assed about their music. Led by co-founders Nick Chiericozzi and Mark Perro, The Men have explored country, surf and classic rock styles, along with the punk and noise influences that first launched the band in 2008.
Those sounds are back in full force on their latest, New York City, a ferocious album that keeps the needle buried in the red for most of its 37 minutes. These 10 songs, also featuring drummer Rich Samis and bassist Kevin Faulkner, are sweaty and lean, packed with buzzsaw guitars and speedy, bludgeoning rhythms. The aesthetic of New York City evokes the album’s municipal namesake at its grittiest: it’s the sonic equivalent of someone dragging you into a glass-strewn alley on the Lower East Side after dark for a little tune-up. But, you know, in a good way. From the very start— the ominous, thwanging guitar part that opens lead track “Hard Livin’”—The Men go hard here.