Monday, December 17, 2012
Music The 20 Best Albums of 2012
Posted by Mike Conklin, Lauren Beck and Jeff Klingman on Mon, Dec 17, 2012 at 5:00 AM
Page 8 of 13
6. The Men — Open Your Heart
Trailing the popularity of Fucked Up, Iceage and the other white-knuckled punk bands of 2011, Brooklyn’s The Men showed something almost resembling chivalry, riding the year in on a white horse of goodwill and positivity. Over the course of 10 tracks, they knock you down but then pick you right back up, with the album’s tight-fisted center counterbalanced by woozy shoegaze, an instrumental torrent, an alt-country ballad, and more than a few alt-rock surges. An album urging “Open Your Heart” risks triteness and banality. What we get instead is a loose translation of what it means to be punk in 2012, punctuated by a reverent nod to “Teen Age Riot” and the neighborhood forefathers who made it possible. Brooklyn isn’t dead yet; neither is punk. This album is all the proof you need.
Key Track: “Candy”
Comments (7)
Showing 1-7 of 7
Top Commenters
