Former Glassjaw guitarist Todd Weinstock led the formation of New York-based Men, Women & Children in March 2004. The ensemble delivered an exuberant dance blend drawing from post-punk, funk, disco, and electro beats, with influences spanning Kraftwerk and Talking Heads to Prince and Giorgio Moroder. What began as a lighthearted experiment between Weinstock and St. Louis bedroom DJ Nick Conceller soon evolved into a deliberate effort to escape rock’s serious tone in favor of tracks that felt enjoyable and visually striking. Weinstock collaborated on initial material with drummer David Sullivan-Kaplan before forwarding the rough cuts to Conceller in Missouri, who contributed keyboards and programming. After six months, Conceller relocated to New York once the project solidified into an actual band. Childhood friend TJ Penzone came aboard as vocalist and brought in his multi-instrumentalist brother Rick to handle bass. Following early tours, among them coast-to-coast shows alongside Gang of Four, the lineup gained permanence when touring guitarist Jay Giummule joined full-time. Recording the debut album stretched beyond a year because three distinct versions of every song were created and three separate producers contributed. The resulting self-titled release surfaced in March 2006 via Reprise, after which the group embarked on further dates that included performances with Metric, Motion City Soundtrack, and the Format.
