2. The Men - Leave Home

Let's start with this, my hardcore/punk days while short-lived, have been over for a while. When people talk to me about this music, a feel kind of like an idiot. Them. Do you know Dead Kennedys, Operation Ivy, Black Flag? Me. Well kinda, I mean I've heard of them. Them. Misfits? Adolescents? Minor Threat? Me. Sorry dude. I just missed it, that's all. It doesn't do anything for me. On the other side, you got people into Norma Jean, As I Lay Dying, From Autumn To Ashes, etc. You know, that hardcore. Again, not my thing. I was always into the midwest stuff, fucking Usurp Synapse. Jerome's Dream. Orchid. More recently Daughters and The Locust. That's the stuff I'm into. I don't need to be a fucking hardcore, punk rocker or whatever. I have the few bands I like, that I believe did it better than any of the aforementioned bands above, and that is enough. And besides, I got out of it cause because Yo La Tengo and My Bloody Valentine were blowing my then young mind. Indie Rock was way cooler than hardcore and punk. I say all that to say this, I'm 25 and when I listen to The Men's Leave Home, I want to fucking rage. I want to throw a party and play this shit as loud as possible and piss off my neighbors, and drink cheap beer and get into fights and break shit. This rocks that. fucking. hard. At only eight tracks, it's remarkable how much ground they cover. Opener If You Leave... is some serious Brit Rock. Lotus is just loud and fun. I mean they just play the hell out of one note until it bursts apart. Think puts every punk song you ever heard to shame. L.A.D.O.C.H. will leave you cringing. It is sonic laceration. At around the four minute mark, you can hear what sounds like him coughing and spitting up blood because he's shredded his vocal chords screaming into the mic for so long. () - Was that a Spacemen 3 reference they just used?! Yeah. Bataille starts out heavy and fast and gets MORE heavier and MORE faster, like they can't even keep up with the beat anymore. Shittin' With The Shah is a great instrumental track just building and building, and Night Landing is fuuuzzzzed out. Guitars have never sounded better. The appeal of being a part of this scene has never been greater. They are the new pioneers. This album makes me want to throw away any music I'm writing and just make noise. This is powerful stuff.