The Weight: Are Men (Colonel)
release: August 5, 2008
style: rockin' honky tonk country
[rating: ***] The thousands of people that state "i listen to everything but country" on their myspace profile would ignore this. i challenge any of them any time that they actually listen to everything. And not all "country" music is what you think. blargh! Those teetering the line of My Morning Jacket, Americana Bruce Springsteen or Whiskytown may find something to like on Are Men. "Man Alone" and "Had it Made" are indeed hella more Southern country than rock, but it's raw and edgy. "Johnny's Song" settles into a sympathetic sincere narrative to which all the band's friends can sing along. "Talkin" switches up to a Neil Young-vocal, as opposed to the gruffy, very Southern vocalist. Yee-haw? -Kenyon