The Men

Open Your HeartSacred Bones ****

We need more bands like The Men. Yes, we need more bands who can thrill you to pieces with a new take on rock's hoary history without resorting to histrionics. Those who found their way to the Brooklyn band via last year's explosive Leave Home debut will relish what they've produced in the interim. The Men's fabulous knack for throwing hard-core punk-rock ideas and idioms into strange places now coalesces with snappy, infectious, downright magnificent tunes such as Turn It Around or epic freak-out Oscillation. Many more will sit up and take notice. Sure, you'll hear plenty of reminders of rock's more adventurous voyagers here – from Hüsker Dü to Sonic Youth via Jesus Lizard and Fugazi – but The Men's greatest talent is to leave pastiche and homages to one side as they hurtle towards the horizon. Pretty damn awesome. wearethemen.blogspot.com

Download tracks:Turn It Around, Animal, Oscillation