Men Women & Children - Men, Women and Children Album Review

Men, Women and Children
Men, Women and Children
Album Review

Men, Women and Children is the side-project of Glassjaw guitarist Todd Weinstock, but existing fans, be warned, this will shock you. Rather than continue with the hard rock dynamics of his day job, Weinstock has made an album of Scissor Sisters style NYC funk rock. Yes. This is certainly a bold change of direction, but the question is, is the record successful?

The answer is, only partly. The band have clearly set out to create a collection of feel-good party tracks, and they have done that. "Dance In My Blood" is a delightfully camp piece of rock disco, with vocalist TJ Penzone doing his best Jake Shears impersonation, and "Photosynthesis" is a fun exercise in 80s style Hi NRG.
The problem is, though, is that they can't sustain it throughout an entire LP. Later tracks like "The Name of the Train is the Hurricane" and "Celebracion" sound too hackneyed and end up blending into a big, over-polished mess. Elsewhere, on the laughable "Time For The Future (Bang Bang), Canzone ponders on modern technology with all the depth of "Insania" but with only a fraction of the comedy value. Also, "Messy" has a lyrical ken that makes Kiss sound like Shakespeare,
"They say boys are messy/Girls just make a mess/So we don't care if we get dirty/We ain't here for cleanliness." Despite this kind of chuckle inducing lyrical prowess, Men, Women and Children's eponymous debut would make a decent party record, ideal for having on in the background, but with its incessant "everybody get on the dance floor" tone, it is good for little else. Approach with caution.

Ben Davis