by Brett Abrahamsen
Buyer Beware is an infernal collection of gloriously cacophonous romps; it’s arguably The Men’s best album since 2016’s Devil Music. This is a visceral and dangerous LP—in other words, it’s real rock and roll.
The record kicks off with the ferocious “Pony,” but that’s only the appetizer: tracks like “Fire Sermon” (which would have made Jeffrey Lee Pierce proud) sound absolutely possessed. The agonizing “Black Heart Blue” brings to mind The Rolling Stones. “Nothing Wrong” is the track which most closely recalls The Men’s early masterpiece Leave Home (after a sinister spoken introduction). These tracks—along with “Tombstone” and the defiant “Get My Soul”—are perhaps the highlights of the disc.
When the band finally slow down, they do so with aplomb—”Charm” (enhanced with ominous, spectral organ work and Bliss Blood-like vocals from visual artist Jess Poplawski) reminds us that The Men could have been masters of indie pop, had they wanted to (the band bring back the squalling guitars toward the end of the track in order to bleed the ears of any Beatles or Smiths fans who might have been listening and smiling along).
The record isn’t perfect. “Control” feels a bit generic and predictable compared with the other tracks. “Dry Cycle” is a pointless (but thankfully brief) “experiment.” The (rather lightweight) doom metal of “The Path” doesn’t work. And the vocals on “Pony” are somewhat weak, especially when compared to the harrowing performance on the title track. Nonetheless, this is an essential record. When Chuck Berry invented rock, records like this were what he had in mind.