MEN are not men. Well, mostly not. In their first incarnation, MEN were primarily a DJ collective dabbling in a little bit of remixing and production, comprised of JD Samson and Johanna Fateman, two thirds of cult lesbian dance-punk band Le Tigre.
MEN have now expanded to a full live band with their own original songs, no longer featuring Fateman (although she's helping out behind the scenes) and including Ginger Brooks Takahashi and Michael O'Neill. The music they're producing isn't especially groundbreaking, being punk-funk and slotting in comfortably alongside much of Le Tigre's back catalouge, as well as similar bands like LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture and !!! (Chk Chk Chk). However, since Le Tigre were so good at what they did, the production on MEN's material is top notch.
Of the several tracks the collective have released into the blogosphere, Simultaneously is the clear stand out. It's a combination of gently pounding beats, touches of tropical percussion, restrained strummed guitars, and a melancholy melody that shares alot in common with 80's post punk. All the different elements of the song are quite subtle, and it's the way they interplay with each other that makes the song so special. At six and half minutes long it's fairly lengthy, but due to a gradual build and a lovely vocal, it flies by.
Check the brilliant Ohh! Crappp... blog HERE for a free download of the song along with two others. MEN's newest track Make It Reverse is also to be featured on the forthcoming Kitsune Maison 7, a trailer for which can be watched below.
