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Album Reviews
Album review: MEN – Talk About Body (Sony/Columbia)
By CMU Editorial | Published on Thursday 10 February 2011
This has been a long time coming. JD Samson, formerly of feminist electro-punk powerhouse Le Tigre, is the driver behind the wheel of disco-influenced Brooklyn-based trio MEN, and ‘Talk About Body’ is their much-anticipated debut album.
After a string of EPs and countless live shows (which are incredibly exciting and quite a visual and aural treat, I must add), the band have finally compiled and recorded an album worthy of that four year wait. ‘Talk About Body’ is, at its core, revolutionary and radical, as one might expect. It is a celebration of community – art, the queer scene, social and political liberties and feminist issues. This isn’t a Scissor Sisters album, nor is it something CSS have dreamt up in the backroom of a sweaty art club – the music is fun and energetic, but the meaning and drive behind it is powerful and demands action.
‘Who Am I To Feel So Free’ is quite spectacular, a mid-album highlight full of energy and exhilaration, while the more down tempo tracks – ‘Simultaneously’ and ‘Rip Off’ – stop the record from punching you in the face with its stamina. It is never without spirit, though. ‘My Family’ easily sums up ‘Talk About Body’ and the band itself as wholes – the inclusion, the pride, Samson’s stamp on the world and her desire for union in the drive for equality. TW
Physical release: 14 Feb
