For an album named after a donkey, this album is far from ass.
Men I Trust, the hit Canadian Indie-dream pop band, has just come out with a new album titled Equus Asinus, the scientific name for a donkey. The album also has a dual album to release soon, titled Equus Caballus, meaning the horse. Although seeming similar, the donkey and the horse are wildly different in nature, foreshadowing the differences in the meaning or maybe even the sound between the two albums.
The 14 tracks and 43 minutes of the album are full of the signature rhythms of Men I Trust – gentle, almost whisper singing and soft melodies. The most popular release from the album so far has been the first track of the album, “I Come With Mud”. Although not a personal favorite, it is certainly similar to their other hits, being more pop-oriented than some of the other tracks which are more dreamlike. When first listening, my prediction was that the song “Bethlehem” would be the hit of the album, only to find that it hasn’t reached anywhere the popularity of tracks like “I Come With Mud” and “All My Candles” reached.
The best part of the album, in my opinion, was the song “Girl (2025)”. What makes this song so different than the others is the inclusion of the deep, male voice in the song. Its mix with the female voice of Emmanuelle Proux makes a mystifying and hypnotic melody. The second half of the song, along with many others in the album, is in French instead of English. Despite not being able to understand, I found myself enthralled in the music and the sound of the words, rather than the words themselves.
Although this album has its definite pros, there were some weak spots. I found a few of the tracks to be repetitive. Although some might enjoy this, it bores me to not find any differences between the tracks, as it doesn’t show the artistic capabilities of the band and just leaves me wanting to skip the song instead of listening all the way through. The strongest example of this, in my opinion, is “All My Candles” and The Landkeeper”. They sound almost the same, except that the singer sounds a bit deeper in the latter. I would enjoy the album more if there was more contrast in the tracks.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Equus Asinus. Even though it has some weak spots, I enjoy the sound of the album and I am excited for the upcoming album. I’ve even considered going to one of the stops on their North America tour in August. I would give this album 3.75 out of 5 stars.
