Known for their unique and ethereal tunes, Men I Trust have established themselves as a pillar of the modern indie scene. With a style that is somewhat hard to define, the band are often praised for their ability to transcend genres, melting together jazz, shoegaze, and R&B elements in their brilliant musical cauldron.
Ahead of their North American and European tours taking place later this year, the Quebecois trio have released their first of two new albums, Equus Asinus. Men I Trust have described the pair of albums as their “biggest and proudest work“, explaining via Instagram that the albums will work in tandem as “two separate entities both from the same genus“.
Equus Asinus continues to build on Men I Trust’s musical sphere created in their first four studio albums. Much like their previous records, Emma Proulx’s dreamy vocals blend beautifully with the fluid instrumentals provided by Jessy Caron and Dragos Chiriac. In this album, however, Men I Trust cement their signature sound whilst becoming more experimental with their music, with greater variety than the likes of Oncle Jazz, in which the latter half of the album risks melding into one.
Their opening track, ‘I Come With Mud’, is testament to this tonal expansion. Beginning with the tense twangs of far-away guitars, the song is more reminiscent of a typical indie-folk number, relatively stripped back in comparison to Men I Trust’s classic electropop style. Proulx’s vocals, however, ensure a continuity of the band’s trademark sound, enticing long-term listeners to enter back into the band’s aesthetic, musical universe.
The shoegaze influence of the band remains clear, with tracks such as ‘All My Candles’ and ‘Heavenly Flow’ based on soft guitar riffs and molten bass lines which blend perfectly with Proulx’s whimsical vocals – particularly reminiscent of the likes of Pale Saints and Cocteau Twins. Tracks such as ‘Purple Box’ and ‘Unlike Anything’, reminiscent of Clairo’s critically-acclaimed Charm, possess a similarly gentler quality that is both comforting and warm.
The album also features a rerecord of the band’s masterful single ‘Girl’, previously released in 2022. It follows the quiet relief of ‘Paul’s Theme’, a melodic and graceful track which combines the band’s bedroom-pop feel with meandering piano solos. Coupled together, these two songs highlight the breadth of Men I Trust’s capabilities.
Ending Equus Asinus on two back-to-back instrumentals, the album finishes with gentle chord progressions and a playful spirit that encompasses Men I Trust’s style: it is charming and soft, allowing for room to breathe. It is the cohesive nature of Men I Trust’s sound that is ultimately the band’s greatest strength and downfall. Whilst the integrity of their sound makes for a beautifully fluent collection, it simultaneously risks being reduced to the status of good background music. However, the strength of Equus Asinus does much to dispute this criticism of the band. Each song has its own distinct character, but works unitedly with the rest of the album; there are no sudden, jarring jumps between each track, but the record still feels smooth and cohesive, never becoming stagnated. It also must be celebrated that Men I Trust continue to produce all of their music themselves, illustrating their prowess as a band. Their self-production has no doubt allowed for the group to continue to create music that is loyal to their original sound.
Equus Asinus is truly a beautiful album, with a softer tone than Oncle Jazz and more grace than Untourable Album. ‘I Come With Mud’ will undoubtedly become a Men I Trust classic, much like ‘Show Me How’, and show that the band can still produce comforting indie bangers. In the several years since their last record was released, it is clear that Men I Trust have matured in their musicality, solidifying their signature style whilst simultaneously expanding the universe they create through their songs.
