On Wednesday, 19 March, Men I Trust released their first original, studio album since 2021’s Untourable Album. Equus Asinus (Latin for “donkey”) is the first half of a two part album pair, the latter of which, Equus Caballus (“horse”), will be released later this year. Strategically released in the days before the spring solstice, the album places the band’s typical calm, lo-fi-esque jazz-funk style with a heavy undertone of seasonal change. Titles like “Frost Bite,” “Burrow,” “I Come With Mud,” and “The Landkeeper,” carry themes of hibernation. However, the music itself employs flowing, tide-like tones, those creating a mood of life and rebirth to contrast their titles. The first track, “I Come With Mud,” for example, begins with a nearly 2-minute long instrumental introduction reminiscent of a jazzified babbling brook. Similarly, the second-to-last track, “Moon 2,” is entirely instrumental, and recalled a musical interpretation of tidal ebb.
As a preexisting fan of Men I Trust and their style, I thoroughly enjoyed Equus Asinus’s familiarity. However, I was somewhat disappointed by the album’s failure to deviate from the band’s earlier work. Especially as the band’s first full-length new album in nearly four years, I was hoping for a greater degree of stylistic subversion. In Equus Asinus, Men I Trust rely on their familiar calm, steady baselines accompanied by soft drums, soft singing, and heavily pedaled guitar, only occasionally broken up by a flute or acoustic guitar. One would know this was the work of Men I Trust even with their eyes closed. “The Landkeeper,” at times so echoes the band’s 2021 “Tree Among Shrubs,” that I have difficulty believing it is not an intentional sequel to the 2021 track. Similarly, “Heavenly Flow” sounds very similar to 2022’s “Girl,” and “All My Candles” is reminiscent of the 2019 “Numb”.
Then again, perhaps it is good to hesitate before being overly critical toward the familiar. In another view, this album serves as a callout to the flawed, constantly novelty-demanding nature of today’s music industry. Equus Asinus is, despite its lack of stylistic novelty, a very good album. Further, a key appeal of Men I Trust’s music is, aptly, their stylistic trustworthiness, so, in the end, I found the album’s loyalty to previous style rather comforting.
Encapsulating springtime’s lightheartedness, Equus Asinus has a lovely mix of jazzy songs for lounging in moonlight, and funky tunes for boogying in the sun, conjuring the peace and joy essential for pushing away the winter blues.
“Men I Trust 06 21 2018 -8 (45721128911)” by Justin Higuchi from Los Angeles, CA, USA is licensed under CC BY 2.0.