For their 4th record in 4 years, The Men are straying away from their punk roots while incorporating a whole mess of new elements like piano, mandolin, harmonica and plenty of other rustic instrumentation. New Moon is a departure though there are certainly times where the Men defy their new investigational tendencies for previously charted waters of grandiose noise punk like the drudgy mid-tempos of "I Saw Her Face", the pseudo hardcore of "The Brass" and the stretched out sprawling closer "Supermoon." Undoubtedly though, New Moon is an unexpected twist giving the Men a sound akin to the likes of Bruce Springsteen, The Band, Uncle Tupelo, Neil Young as well as Dinosaur Jr., Arboretum and Titus Andronicus. The barroom romp of the opening chords on "Open the Door" ushers in the new sound and soon after we get a countrified stomper like "The Seeds", a starry-eyed instrumental ("High and Lonesome") and the Fender Rhodes and lap-steel laden "Bird Song." What's interesting about New Moon is that they actually brought the same energy and punk ethos to recording these new songs with the entire record boasting a defiant in-the-red sound. The Men have never sounded scruffier or as confidently unapologetic but ultimately that's what gives New Moon its charm. For a limited time, purchases of the album will include a bonus CD EP.