The Men – Tomorrow’s Hits

The Men have long taken musical cues from all over; as soon as they were pegged as post-hardcore channelling the likes of Fugazi or The Replacements, they were co-opting surf rock riffs and classic songwriting on ‘New Moon’. So the more mature sound of ‘Tomorrow’s Hits’ shouldn’t come as surprise to many – although those who’ve found much to love in the Brooklyn-based quintet’s oft-frenetic live sets might find themselves a little out of water on this sixth full-length.

They’ve left those grimy basements of their home borough well and truly behind here – bar the pseudo-outtakes and shouty moments on ‘Different Days’ and the grungy distortion that accompanies closer ‘Going Down’ – they’re showing signs of being buried deep in the Great American Songbooks of yore. It’s Springsteen, it’s 70s soft-rock, it’s sun-soaked Californian road trips.

“Sweet Candy, lay one on me”, goes ‘Get What You Give’, sounding as if it’s been transported right from Almost Famous’ Stillwater, “I used to get so angry / baby now I’m confused”, it continues, among group hand claps. There’s honky-tonk piano that Elton John, during his most outlandish period might be proud of (‘Another Night’, ‘Pearly Gates’). There’s brass.

The nods to country do little to shift time either; ‘Settle Me Down’ sounds just as its title suggests, and there’s ‘Sleepless’ with its muted vocals.

And yet, however much it’s so easy to picture the fivesome clad in denim flares, shirts and early Kings of Leon-esque facial hair, The Men have done all this without one iota of cheese: the name ‘Tomorrow’s Hits’ might just be the only irony on show.