{"title":"The Men","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"mercy-2","title":"Mercy","description":"\u003cp\u003eNew York band The Men have always been genre-morphic and unpredictable, but on their eighth album \u003ci\u003eMercy\u003c\/i\u003e they have truly done something new as a band. For the first time since forming, they have now created three straight records with the same lineup, and the result is a sound that feels developed and continuous despite running the gamut of mood, in true Men fashion. Having this lineup stability has allowed the band to deepen and finesse the sounds they were exploring on 2017’s\u003ci\u003e Drift \u003c\/i\u003eand produce tracks that have a unique and distinct voice. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eMercy\u003c\/i\u003e was recorded live at Serious Business studio to 2” tape with Travis Harrison. The band did minimal overdubs, contributing to the urgent feel of the recording. The album is simply the sound of a band that has a deep and unjaded passion for songwriting and creation, working at the peak of their collaborative connection. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eMercy \u003c\/i\u003etakes the listener on a cinematic journey throughout its seven tracks, beginning with the soothing but lonesome country rock opener \u003ci\u003eCool Water.\u003c\/i\u003e This track, like many on the record, feels timeless, illustrating the band’s ability to write songs you are convinced you’ve heard before on the B-side of your favourite record from the ’70s. You are then pulled into its longest song, the 10-and-a-half minute psychedelic blues rock opus of \u003ci\u003eWading in Dirty Water.\u003c\/i\u003e The band explore some new territory on \u003ci\u003eMercy\u003c\/i\u003e, and they also revisit the Suicide-style sound they have been working on for a while through \u003ci\u003eDrift \u003c\/i\u003eand also with one of their side projects \u003ci\u003eDream Police\u003c\/i\u003e, resulting in the highlight \u003ci\u003eChildren All Over the World\u003c\/i\u003e, a song that could stand next to any classic rock hit but with The Men’s unique artistic savvy. It wouldn’t be a contemporary Men record without a total fuzzed-out stomper a la their \u003ci\u003eOpen Your Heart\u003c\/i\u003e-era sound, and this record’s offering, \u003ci\u003eBreeze\u003c\/i\u003e, shows the band’s complete command of this urgent and pulverizing style. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sacred Bones Records","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50390604448075,"sku":"1084376","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"Blue | LP","offer_id":50390605168971,"sku":"1084377","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50390603661643,"sku":"1084375","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/28965ec2-0a82-471a-8b20-03988867739f_thumbnail_4096.png?v=1726392719"},{"product_id":"manhattan-fire-new-york-city-demos-rsd-2024","title":"Manhattan Fire (New York City Demos) - RSD 2024","description":"\u003cp\u003e\n                            This product is a Record Store Day exclusive title and is not available to pre-order.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n                            To buy in-store: 8am, 20\/04\/2024 (Record Store Day).\u003cbr\u003e\n                            To buy online: 8pm, 22\/04\/2024. (Subject to availability).\u003cbr\u003e\n                            Don’t forget: Click 'Notify Me' to be the first to know about its availability online. It also helps us to place accurate orders so that we can please as many of you as possible on the day.\u003cbr\u003e\n                            \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eManhattan Fire\u003c\/i\u003e is a collection of demos from prolific Brooklyn outfit The Men, revealing early versions of the tracks that would go on to make up their 2023 LP \u003ci\u003eNew York City\u003c\/i\u003e – described by Pitchfork as “an unpretentious garage-punk racket […] summoning the snottiest ghosts of the city’s punk past.” \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecorded in mono and with a drum machine by founding members Mark Perro and Nick Chiericozzi over lockdown in late 2020 – before being shelved for the full-band, live-to-tape affair of the final LP – \u003ci\u003eManhattan Fire\u003c\/i\u003e shows a new side to those songs that's even more primitive and rough around the edges, as well as previously unheard tracks that never made it onto the album.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Fuzz Club","offers":[{"title":"Clear LP","offer_id":50414592131403,"sku":"2181433","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/p_d76512f1-5eb0-4ff7-88f2-165a9434f4b8_1200x1200.jpg_3f82741a_thumbnail_409.webp?v=1726684097"},{"product_id":"new-york-city","title":"New York City","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"When everyone left NYC, the sewer opened and we crawled out.” Prolific Brooklyn institution The Men return with their ninth studio album, \u003ci\u003eNew York City\u003c\/i\u003e. Arriving following 2020’s \u003ci\u003eMercy\u003c\/i\u003e, the new LP on the group’s new label home Fuzz Club Records and marks a return to the more scuzzy and abrasive rock ploughed over their decade and a half spent coursing through the grimy sewers of NYC. Here, nocturnal proto-punk meets a timeless, all-guns-blazing rock’n’roll gusto. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat the album leans into a more primitive, back-to-basics sound owes largely to the way in which was forged, an earlier version of the record scrapped in favour of four people playing in a room together. “The New York City album was revised, reorganized and shaped until it became clear that things fall into place like the hammer driving the nail or the scythe's swipe through the tall grass.” The end result is a series of cuts played live and recorded to 2\" tape in Travis Harrison’s (Guided By Voices, Built To Spill) Brooklyn studio.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e‘New York City’ is a record that doesn’t stop moving for a second, packed full of the kind of energy you can only really capture in a live setting. “These songs became the blood of the band as the band could only exist for and of these songs. There was no place else to hang their hats. Without making this record, the group would not exist, so there really wasn't another option. NYC is fluid. It means a lot of different things to all kinds of people. We present the record in that spirit.” \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"No Label","offers":[{"title":"White LP | Rough Trade Exclusive","offer_id":50426027704651,"sku":"2000534","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"White LP | Signed Copy","offer_id":50426026852683,"sku":"2000533","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"Clear LP","offer_id":50426027999563,"sku":"2026694","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50426026393931,"sku":"2000532","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Men_-_New_York_City_f023f18a_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726798943"},{"product_id":"hated-2008-2011","title":"Hated: 2008-2011","description":"\u003cp\u003eNYC's The Men have made a name for themselves as wayfaring musicians, constantly evolving and eluding their listeners. Before they were genre-hopping through country, post-punk, noise rock, and more, they were applying that experimental nature within the more confined space of punk. Within that genre they were wildly adventurous, playing noise shows, hardcore shows, rock shows, and switching up the instrumentation as they saw fit, while always operating within a general punk ethos. Their first demo was a hand-dubbed and spray-painted run of 32 copies, half of which worked, and their first shows were at New York dives like Tommy's Tavern, Matchless, and Don Pedro. That hand-dubbed demo kicked off a furious run of creative output from 2008 to 2011, much of which is now collected on the new compilation, \u003ci\u003eHated\u003c\/i\u003e. The songs on \u003ci\u003eHated\u003c\/i\u003e are pulled from a variety of sources - the debut demo tape, a split with Nomos, a 7\", a 12\" EP, and a slew of unreleased demos, outtakes, and live recordings. These songs show the huge range and potential of a band still in its infancy when they were just beginning to blaze the path they're still on to this day. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sacred Bones Records","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50449343971659,"sku":"1047248","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/fb986eb6-eff8-4521-9675-4d9776389434_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727101770"},{"product_id":"leave-home-10th-anniversary-edition","title":"Leave Home (10th Anniversary Edition)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Men’s hugely influential album \u003ci\u003eLeave Home\u003c\/i\u003e came out during an exciting time in New York City. DIY lofts and shitty bars littered downtown Manhattan and North Brooklyn. The Acheron had just opened its doors. Kill Your Idols had broken up. Toxic State Records was just getting started with Crazy Spirit, Dawn of Humans, Hank Wood and Perdition EP’s. The city was alive with punk and noise and filth. And right at that time, The Men were the show to be at. Every gig was dripping with sweat. Hallways and sidewalks were packed between sets. Chaos reigned in the pit. The Men hit like a bag of hard cement, a hardcore band with a familiar sound but with an aura of absolute chaos and intensity, like everything was on the brink of going off the rails at every moment of their set, a downhill freight train with no brakes. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sacred Bones Records","offers":[{"title":"White | LP","offer_id":50453299724619,"sku":"1131650","price":20.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/6edf94d3-2338-47cb-b1cd-2f2cb653e846_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727170708"},{"product_id":"fuzz-club-session-12","title":"Fuzz Club Session","description":"\u003cp\u003eHot off the back of this year's critically-acclaimed new album \u003ci\u003eNew York City\u003c\/i\u003e, Brooklyn punk institution The Men are back already with a Fuzz Club Session album on limited double LP. Recorded live to tape at Brooklyn's Serious Business Studio by Travis Harrison, the live session sees the Men storm through three tracks from \u003ci\u003eNew York City\u003c\/i\u003e, one from \u003ci\u003eDevil Music\u003c\/i\u003e, a cover of English punk band Blitz and nine-brand new tracks that have never seen the light of the day until now, ranging from blistering noise-rock and cathartic rock'n'roll to lo-fi country-rock and hypnotising drones. This is the 20th release in the Fuzz Club Session series from London-based label Fuzz Club, which has previously hosted the likes of A Place To Bury Strangers, Night Beats, Holy Wave, The Entrance Band and more.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Fuzz Club","offers":[{"title":"Clear LP","offer_id":50478888190283,"sku":"2024029","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50478887960907,"sku":"2024028","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Men_-_Fuzz_Club_Session_2fd49b44_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727494069"},{"product_id":"immaculada","title":"Immaculada","description":"\u003cp\u003eTHE MEN's self-released debut album originally limited to 500 copies now remastered and available on CD format for the first time. 8 songs of desperate, fuzzed out, riff laden punk\/post-punk. This release really is an excellent mash of shoegaze and drony soundscapes with buried vocals beneath it all. Dreamy at times, with that Sonic Youth vibe.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Deranged","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50493302473035,"sku":"383970","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"LP","offer_id":50493303456075,"sku":"383969","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/a843befc-933e-455f-a7cb-2ed2ff79f128_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727696752"},{"product_id":"buyer-beware","title":"Buyer Beware","description":"\u003cp\u003e“When you gonna stop running?” The Men demand to know in the opening line of “Pony,” the blistering first track and lead single from the New York rock quartet’s album, \u003ci\u003eBuyer Beware\u003c\/i\u003e. Make no mistake—this is no sign of an existential crisis, but rather a call to arms for a band that has never stood still for very long. By their own count, \u003ci\u003eBuyer Beware\u003c\/i\u003e is their 15th album since their debut \u003ci\u003eWe Are\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Men\u003c\/i\u003e (2009), and their 4th for Fuzz Club following \u003ci\u003eNew York City\u003c\/i\u003e (2023), \u003ci\u003eFuzz Club Sessions No. 20\u003c\/i\u003e (2023), and \u003ci\u003eManhattan Fire\u003c\/i\u003e (2024). But this doesn't count the limited tapes (like ‘Live in Zagreb’), singles or splits - so you might as well stop trying to count. The Men have a work ethic as old school as their rock roots, yet despite the hustle they never appear to be rushing, a contradiction that somehow naturally resolves itself through their music, reconciling with Zen-like balance the raw fury of punk rock with the minimalist austerity of Steve Reich (or, outside of music, Mark Rothko).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBuyer Bewar\u003c\/i\u003ee marks The Men’s fifth collaboration with recording engineer Travis Harrison (Guided by Voices, Built to Spill) who, at this point, is finely attuned to the nuances of the group’s dynamics—Nick Chiericozzi (guitar\/vocals), Kevin Faulkner (bass), Mark Perro (guitar\/vocals), and Rich Samis (drums). Recording direct to tape, Harrison captures the raw, confrontational fever of their stage shows without sacrificing their introspective undercurrents. The result is undoubtedly their most aggressive album since \u003ci\u003eLeave Home\u003c\/i\u003e (2011), and their most psychedelic since  \u003ci\u003eImmaculada\u003c\/i\u003e (2010). But \u003ci\u003eBuyer Beware\u003c\/i\u003e is no mere return to their roots - The Men have always moved forward while remaining true to themselves. A clarion call for troubled times signaled by its title, ‘Buyer Beware’ finds The Men tackling questions both personal and political, their sound and vision never more primal or apocalyptic.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Fuzz Club","offers":[{"title":"Clear LP | Rough Trade Exclusive","offer_id":50867437699403,"sku":"2233595","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Red LP","offer_id":50867437273419,"sku":"2233594","price":23.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50867436486987,"sku":"2233593","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/3000_The_Men_Buyer_Beware_Packshot_14c70b6b_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1732117150"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/the-men.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}