Leave Home
by The Men
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
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  1. Beats Per Minute
    Jul 26, 2011
    83
    In any case, Leave Home is no doubt one of the most gut-punched and brain-addled rock rock records to arrive in quite some time.
  2. Pitchfork
    Jul 26, 2011
    82
    The Men's treatment of their well-curated influences is less akin to that of fan-boys playing in a tribute act and a lot more like an irreverent hip-hop producer's approach to breaks--key in on your sources' coolest moments, change the context, and ride that perfect sound forever.
  3. Mojo
    Jun 28, 2012
    80
    Bracing, yet insidiously melodic. [Jan 2012, p.97]
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  5. The Quietus
    Jan 9, 2012
    80
    The Men's highly enjoyable chaos.
  6. Consequence
    Aug 3, 2011
    80
    After 41 minutes, Leave Home doesn't linger like a flashback, it sticks like a demented structure that's mysteriously magnetic and, in the end, really fun. No wonder this stuff is addictive.
  7. Dusted Magazine
    Jul 26, 2011
    80
    Approaches to guitar rock that are generally better segregated sound great together here, as they jump from '90s indie to shotgun at yr face drunkfuzz. I've got no idea where they can go with this. For now, they've made a record that leaves me spinning after every spin.
  8. cokemachineglow
    Jul 26, 2011
    80
    Leave Home is manna for white noise aficionados and anyone who thought the last Future of the Left record was far too tempered (yeah that's right). The Men have done a good thing here.
  9. BBC Music
    Dec 6, 2011
    70
    A wonderful grab-bag of anomalous sounds that pilfers magpie-like from genre after genre as it charts its 41-minute course.
  10. AllMusic
    Jul 26, 2011
    60
    The rest of the record is filled with an invigorating amount of passion, noise, and power that impressively takes their roots and influences to a new place. Not bad for a debut album; it bodes very well for further endeavors.

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User Score
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No user score yet- Awaiting 2 more ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. Doxxman5
    Aug 11, 2017
    9
    The Men are anything but predictable, truly being one of the better bands to emerge in the 2010's and leave their fans guessing on where theyThe Men are anything but predictable, truly being one of the better bands to emerge in the 2010's and leave their fans guessing on where they will go next. Leave Home is their second record and surely one of their best, as it encompasses the mess that is the band's quest to conquer every form of music. Hardcore punk of the 1980's seems to be the theme for most of the record, recalling bands like Dead Kennedys, Flipper, and even The Dream Syndicate at their most raw. After the psych opener "If You Leave", the next couple of songs could only be seen as a decent into madness: The raw but melodic "Lotus"; the abstract almost Pere Ubu noise fest of "Think"; what I could only compare to the scariest of Swans imitations with "Ladoch", six minutes of torture.

    Finally the rage subsides a bit with the next two tracks on the record which also happen to be the best: a rocking bruiser that recalls The Stooges or better yet The Cows titled simply "()", and "Bataille" which recalls all of the above with a superb melodic line, and maybe the best song they ever cut. It is all summed up at the end with "Night Landing", one of the great phaser guitar driving songs to not exist in the 1980's. As much as throw back their sound can be, they sum all of it up with an attitude that is pure 21st century; they are very aware of who they are channeling and do it with style and substance.    … Full Review »
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