Audio By Carbonatix
I was trying to describe the excellent new album by The Men, Open Your Heart, to a friend the other day.
“It’s sort of post-punky, with some elements of alt-country, but there’s also this hardcore element,” I stammered. I realized I was kind of being kind of an idiot: Open Your Heart is a rock album, plain and simple, not too far removed from the kind of big-hearted, melodically inclined stuff that The Foo Fighters do.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not one of those guys who thinks genres or honest descriptions are useless, but I do think that half the time we answer the question “What does that sound like?” with too much cred-scrounging, overwrought pretension.
The answer to the question shouldn’t always be “rock ‘n’ roll,” or punk rock, or avant-electro-core with touches of EDM and black metal atmospherics, for that matter. I’m all for music that can’t be easily categorized — it can be the best thing ever — but sometimes it can be nice to cut straight to the core of — to paraphrase Raymond Carver — what the hell we’re talking about when we talk about music.
When news happens, Phoenix New Times is there —
Your support strengthens our coverage.
We’re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to you. If New Times matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there.
