The history of Other Men My Age might cause one to, upon first glance, overlook the amazing breadth and immediacy of their current sound. Spawned from the likes of very seminal art-core bands such as Harriet the Spy, Three Studies for a Crucifixion, Armstrong’s Secret Nine and “New” Terror Class, the Oregon via Ohio artists are by no means lightweights in the world of underground punk. The band initially began in 2001 after Harriet the Spy singer/guitarist Dave Neeson met up with former Armstrong’s Secret Nine bassist Ken Myer in Portland. The pair had known each other from their art school days at Kent State University, where the small Ohio town’s fervid music scene of the nineties caused publications such as ‘Bettawreckonize’ to refer to Kent as “The new D.C., The new Chicago, The new New York!”

The Kent music scene, like all forward thinking art movements, imploded after a few short years. But from the ashes rose an eclectic group of visual artists and musicians intent on fusing postmodern aesthetics while obfuscating the mediums of visual art and music. Like their kindred brethren the Party of Helicopters, Other Men My age share panache for sardonic wit, intellectualist fancies and a unique blend of dissonance and melody—creating a style of music that is at once accessible yet esoteric. The band, rounded out by drummer Richard Coss and keyboardist Shaine Edwards, released a split 7” with Science of Yabra in 2002, sporadically touring along the west coast for the rest of the year. After honing their sound and live performances, Other Men My Age signed to Atlanta-based indie label Luminal Records in early 2003. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.