As we have already had the opportunity to tell, in 2020 the pandemic hit the two historical leaders of the Men, Nick Chiericozzi and Mark Perro, while they were starting to outline material for a new album. Suddenly forced into the house by lockdownalone, with the help of only one drum machines, channeled all the discomfort of that period into a series of raw and immediate songs, recorded in mono mode (this was the house), angry garage-rock snapshots capable of reflecting the moods of the moment and bringing the band back towards the harshness of the debuts. In those days many groups were on the verge of disbanding, or transforming into something different: Perro and Chiericozzi spent their weeks of isolation looking for solutions, but fearing that a rapid exit from the pandemic would force them to reconfigure the band as a two-man project.
Fortunately, in the following months the entire New York lineup had the opportunity to meet again in a studio, perfecting and refining the songs that would end up on last year's album, “New York City”. Rich Samis' drums and Kevin Faulkner's bass took their place again in support of voices and guitars, strictly electric, to complete the first work published for Fuzz Club Records after years of militancy with Sacred Bones.
Eight of those preliminary versions, along with five previously unreleased tracks from them session of recording, have become “Manhattan Fire”, the new work by The Men, distributed exclusively in vinyl format on the occasion of Record Store Day 2024.
“Manhattan Fire” is a new express dedication to their city of origin and to important places for the punk movement, such as CBGB and Max's Kansas City. Inspired by the hard and pure sounds of the Stooges and Mc5, it contains a sequence of nervous songs, resulting from the uncontainable need to release positive energy. It is possible to purchase it through the group's Bandcamp page, and it will be the only way to listen to it: only one song has been released on streaming platforms for promotional purposes, “I See The Light”, a filthy rock'n'roll in their style , stylistically in line with the contents of “New York City”. The rest of the material consists of take temporary, but capable of standing very well on their own legs. A primitive version of the Men, through which to relive those days of discomfort, when no one could know how long it would last.
05/08/2024
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM