Man at Arms

Spry and powerful, Michigan/Ohio’s Man at Arms are a storming duo whose frenzied imaginations lead them to attack guitars and drums with an ungodly tension touched by self-aware freedom and manic irreverence. Eric and Ted represent a generation of subversive, embittered musicians too smart and musically proficient to express themselves any way but originally. Great inventers of post-punk and hard rock live within the sound of Man at Arms but their musical DNA is still skewed. As songs like "Rent to Own” and "Everything Is Getting Better/Worse” demonstrate, the band’s ancestral tree’s strongest branch definitely includes Victoria’s Nomeansno. But there are also hints of Jimmy Page’s tasteful bravado on the mostly sparse "Designer Impostors” and many songs, including "Urine: The Picture,” recall Bob Weston-helmed numbers by Shellac. Though they could claim Hella as contemporaries, Man at Arms possess a leaner, direct aesthetic that bleeds beautifully through A Waste of Time and Space.