The Men

The Men originated as a raw punk outfit before broadening their approach to embrace country-rock, soul, and more straightforward song forms. The Brooklyn trio came together in 2008, achieving early national attention via the fierce noise rock of Leave Home, their second full-length, issued in 2011. Open Your Heart followed in 2012 and marked a critical breakthrough, earning widespread acclaim while also charting the group’s departure from punk confines; subsequent releases such as Tomorrow’s Hits in 2014 continued this restless reinvention through ambitious, wide-ranging material. Devil Music returned the band to harsh, confrontational noise rock in 2016. A consistent roster enabled further exploration on Mercy in 2020, alongside a reversion to abrasive punk on New York City, released in 2023.

Nick Chiericozzi, Chris Hansell, and Mark Perro, all from Brooklyn, launched the project as a gritty post-punk threesome in 2008. Prior to adding drummer Rich Samis, the group issued the self-released We Are the Men and Immaculada along with assorted cassettes. Their Sacred Bones debut, Leave Home, was tracked at Python Patrol studio and appeared in 2011. The following March brought Open Your Heart—the first album featuring both Samis and bassist Kevin Faulkner—which fused country, psych, and surf elements with the band’s biting, aggressive style. New Moon, their fourth album, and the Campfire Songs EP both surfaced in 2013, by which time engineer Ben Greenberg (of Hubble and Zs) had joined for a short stint. Tomorrow’s Hits, the fifth album, pushed further from hardcore origins toward the sincere blue-collar rock associated with Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty. In 2016 the Men issued the self-released Devil Music, reclaiming a noisy, experimental edge. Drift arrived on Sacred Bones in 2018 as their most varied effort to date, while Hated: 2008-2011 compiled early tracks and unreleased material that same year. Mercy, released in 2020, drew from country through ’80s arena rock, and New York City, issued by Fuzz Club Records in 2023, revisited raw, abrasive rock & roll.