MEN -‘Talk About Body’ (I Am Sound/Columbia)

I have to confess that I’m almost taken rather aback to discover that this is out on a major label. nt because i don’t think it’s any good – I do – but because this is a fairly leftfield release. With lyrical concerns about liberties and sexual compromise (‘I’m gonna fuck my friends and get a little tiny baby’ they sing on ‘Credit card babie$’…umm, okay…), this is not an album for Conservatives or conservative types.

If you are not like that, then so much the better. MEN are a brooklyn-based collective, including members of Le Tigre JD Sampson and and JOhanna fateman, as well as members of LTTR and Ladybug Transistor. Bearing this in mind, there’s something a little..not quite old-fashioned, perhaps, but certainly heard before; the mixture of post-punk basslines and attitude with electronic sounds. I suspect it might have been more lauded in 2001 than 2011, when the aforementioned Le Tigre were newer on the block.

This is not to slag it off, it’s pretty good in its’ own way. It’s sure to appeal to fans of acts like Peaches, Chicks On Speed and the aforementioned Le Tigre. Its’ sprit is infections. As with the aforementioned acts, it is eminently danceable, and a whole heap of fun. ‘Rip Off’ is quite bizarre, seemingly an oral history of Orange Juisce (the band).

Given the pedigree here, it’s surprising that it’s not perhaps a little more innovative, but maybe next time…

Talk About Body is out now on I Am Sound/Columbia.