The sun has finally come out and it's time to get up off the couch and put on some dancing shoes. Besides the sound of birds chirping, spring brings us the self-titled debut by Men Women & Children, but this album leaves no time to stop and smell the flowers.
The band's off-the-wall New Wave/dance/punk/funk music combines synthesized sound with groove-filled bass lines and high-pitched pop vocals. The first image that comes to mind is a roller rink with a disco ball spinning above.
The album starts out with a psychedelic twisting of noises before hitting the listener with explosive beats in "Dance in My Blood." The song combines all this with cheesy claps while singing "you don't need a reason to get out on the dance floor."
The guitar backup is simple but acceptable when accompanied with the crazy electronic sounds coming through on every song.
MW&C's sound could be compared to that of Panic! At the Disco's song "Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks" and Action Action's song "Don't Cut your Fabric" with the thumping background noise, except MW&C's lead singer TJ Penzone provides crazy pitches and range of vocals that never tire throughout the entire album.
By no means is this album meant to be taken seriously with songs such as "Monkey Monkee Men," including lines like "We're monkey men/ We'll eat all your friends/ We're monkeys, we're monkees."
In the final song titled "Vowels," they chant "A-E-I-O-U nothing" for no real reason other than they remembered their vowels from kindergarten.
Every song is upbeat until the album is finished. There are no real variations between song types or any pace changes. This can lead to boredom if the dance aspect is not enough to keep your ear.
The lyrics always provide a source of entertainment, with many songs using limerick-type stanzas and odd topics such as boys being messy and snails leaving trails when they cross the road.
Listeners can get enjoyment from at least one aspect of this fun album, even if it is just looking at the insert with the band members dressed as animals. Men Women & Children are a tasty treat, but perhaps a bit cloying.
