Breathtaking and unique, it’s a bold (albeit softer) testament to the band’s staying power that should whet the appetites of noobs and longtime fans, stoking the fires of another phenomenal LP.
Review: The Men – Campfire Songs
National Music Reviews
The Men
Campfire Songs
Sacred Bones
Street: 10.15
The Men = Velvet Underground + Sebadoh
All bands evolve, but it seems Brooklyn’s The Men have been doing it exponentially since inception, from sprawling hardcore-influenced noise rock to standard rock/pop fare more recently. Hence the album title, the band has crafted a set of five acoustic-only tracks (three of which are re-recorded versions of existing and two are brand new) to astounding results. They’ve given New Moon tracks “I Saw Her Face” and “The Seeds” a haunting Appalachian forest makeover with ghostly howls and a lo-fi sheen, while “Turn Your Color” conjures the same effervescent sprawl of The Men at their most psychedelic. It enlists low-budget recording technology, a Kim Thayil–esque strings arrangement, vague folk conventions and a slowly undulating rhythm to bore its way into consciousness. Breathtaking and unique, it’s a bold (albeit softer) testament to the band’s staying power that should whet the appetites of noobs and longtime fans, stoking the fires of another phenomenal LP. –Dylan Chadwick
Campfire Songs
Sacred Bones
Street: 10.15
The Men = Velvet Underground + Sebadoh
All bands evolve, but it seems Brooklyn’s The Men have been doing it exponentially since inception, from sprawling hardcore-influenced noise rock to standard rock/pop fare more recently. Hence the album title, the band has crafted a set of five acoustic-only tracks (three of which are re-recorded versions of existing and two are brand new) to astounding results. They’ve given New Moon tracks “I Saw Her Face” and “The Seeds” a haunting Appalachian forest makeover with ghostly howls and a lo-fi sheen, while “Turn Your Color” conjures the same effervescent sprawl of The Men at their most psychedelic. It enlists low-budget recording technology, a Kim Thayil–esque strings arrangement, vague folk conventions and a slowly undulating rhythm to bore its way into consciousness. Breathtaking and unique, it’s a bold (albeit softer) testament to the band’s staying power that should whet the appetites of noobs and longtime fans, stoking the fires of another phenomenal LP. –Dylan Chadwick
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