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"Swamp Things" video by Graham Mason & Dax de la Monta, 2008
"The Foreseeable Future" video by Michael Saunders, John Stiger, Jeff VandenBerg and Man at Arms, 2006
On "A Waste of Time and Space"
"I really love this CD. It strikes me as an intersection of the jerky white guy art funk of the Minutemen, the more frantic tunes from Nomeansno, and the sparse/loud dynamics of I Hate Myself. All this is topped off with lyrical input that could very well come from all the aforementioned bands. When tightly wound art punk like this is pulled off right, there is nothing better to me, and these guys fucking nail it. All the more impressive is that this is a two piece. Bands like the Minutemen, Nomeansno, Devo, and the Urninals get me really excited, because they make the type of odd and offbeat but punk as fuck music that I wish I was playing. To me, this band gets the same facilities all worked up as those bands do, which is rare. There’s a lot of music I love, but bands that are both challenging, genuinely enjoyable, and somehow oddly different are a rare breed, but these guys do it for me. Plus you gotta admire a band that has the balls to name one of their songs “The Best Song Ever.†–Adrian
From Razorcake
"The first full-length album from Man at Arms is refreshing … if refreshing means having your brain scrambled by some original-sounding genuine punk math-rock pop business. I love these guys. It's like XTC on steroids or The Locusts covered in glue or maybe even early Talking Heads with more aggression. It's great. All the songs are traditionally structured, yet the tones of the parts and rhythms played are dissonant and offtime. The vocals are sparse yet seem to be placed in exactly the right spots. This band is so amazing I am going to name my fistborn child after them. I hope Man at Arms Robertson grows up to as badass as this band is." – Jon Robertson
From Slug Magazine
"If you’re wondering why Man at Arms sounds so darn tinny and high-strung most of the time on A Waste of Time and Space it’s because there’s no bottom end. Originally a three-piece, Man at Arms parted ways with its bass player back in 2005 and apparently the two remaining members, guitarist Eric Gallipo and Ted Prassinos, haven’t looked back, choosing to soldier on as a duo. And what a duo they make, spitting out tightly wound, agitated noise rock filled with manic intensity. Repetition features prominently throughout the record (culminating in “The Meetin,†whose insistent beat and sparse vocals sound like some sort of tribal incantation), and the band also flirts with atonality and unorthodox time signatures. Underpinning the fiercely experimental spirit, however, is a keen sense of musicality which means that even the most eccentric songs are still governed by a certain logic. Punk rock for music geeks. -Erin Bell
Wonka Vision
"Modest Mouse could have gone this route, if it wasn't for the whole wanting to be rich thing. Sometimes keeping it complex is the simplest answer, at least if you're Man At Arms. Warm and fuzzy melodies are for pussies: this duo pole vaults over musical convention with sterile repetition, complex drumming, and lyrics that would make Stephen Hawking's battery run dry." - John Valliere
From Prick Magazine
"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. (Joyful Noise)"
By Vish Khanna
From Exclaim.ca
More like a waste of ti—yeah, exactly. OK enough, joking around, let’s actually listen to the album. The formula for this band’s music is pretty simple: one guy on guitar and one guy on drums, angular indie-prog rhythms, monotone vocals, short songs (only two songs barely creep over 4 minutes). I’m guessing these guys were heavily inspired by a bunch of ‘90s math-rock bands that I never listened to. The band sure has its dynamic interplay down, and the songs at least make their point and move .. getting too tedious. Maybe they’re more interesting live, or something. As it is, though, this album doesn’t hold my attention. It just seems like the aural equivalent of a book of equations that haven’t really been solved yet. 5/10" - Paul Simpson From Foxy Digitalis
"This art-rock duo doesn’t think they sound like Primus. I’ll only say they sound like Ler and Les’ love child donned an Eyeball mask and forcefully took over Modest Mouse. That being said, the drummer is pretty awesome (no, he doesn’t play like Herb) and they sound like they’d be a blast live; they’re the kind of band that you see which reminds you that rock ‘n’ roll tends to be pretty simplistic and that there really is more out there to listen to. Quite a lot of times they sound like they’re collectively falling down stairs, but they never lose control of their instruments, which is comforting. Go right now to joyfulnoiserecordings.com."
by Ryan Cunningham, Recoil
"If you can imagine the Minutemen playing math rock, you might get an idea of the mania here. This is music for mutants, pure and simple. Humans need not apply. Luckily, this web site is for mutants, so Man at Arms is more than welcome. If my first reference is confusing, perhaps the notion of Ween playing Voivod might help you out. No? Hmm. The Jesus Lizard under the boot of a minimalist dominatrix? I have a feeling none of these are making any sense. So I'll just say that Man at Arms plays highly-technical, highly-crafted songs that sometimes sport an actual melody. The vocals trip over the music as often as not, but they're kinda effective that way. The result is a disjointed mish-mash that sounds positively wonderful. To mutant ears, of course. Humans will wonder what the fuck is going on. That's okay. Leave them to their Mantovani. Oh wait, another now-obscure reference. Sorry about that."
By Jon Worley, A&A
On "Abner Trio & Man at Arms" split CD
"I hate it. 'Thoughtful' guitars, 'intelligent' and clearly enunciated vocals... Quirky, mathy... I'm going to throw this CD in the garbage now. I don't want anyone else to ever hear this; I hate it that much."
From Razorcake
"Man At Arms... are decidedly more aggressive and tightly focused. Each song is a short-lived whirlwind awash in inhuman drumming, lacerating guitar riffs and clipped vocal lines which spew indictments on modern life."
From Ink 19
On "The Foreseeable Future" iTunes single/tour EP
Two new songs and four live tracks. A blistering exercise in discipline for people with no patience; a monotonous thumping forward into the beginning of the end. Hear the band at their most repetitive, seething and mundane. Hear the two play songs they recorded as three. This is revisionist history in the making.
From Friction Records
On "Being and Commerce" EP
"This bludgeoning raw amalgam of noise, rock and noise rock is made by only two mortal men. I heard Courtesy call on a free comp and lost my mind. I was immediately reminded of Destro1, Grand Island, Giddy Motors, Astoveboat, and Shotmaker and other strong bands in the genre. But uniquely Man At arms is only two guys. Well two very angry guys who appear to be very depressed and also secret geniuses of the lost dystopian lyrical form. Allow me to quote: ³Here is a mint for you pillow, Here is a cake for your urinal, a blanket for your burial. This is a courtesy call for nothing at all² There is not a millisecond of melody on this record. Each digital bit on the CD includes only feedback, pounding rhythm and the bitterest wailing of suffering. I¹ve met producers who spend their lives in the studio trying to clean up each guitar note, moving baffles, microphones, changing cables, and the like. These guys are pros trying to take that click of a guitar pick on the string out of the note and leave only perfect tone and sustain. Man At Arms is trying to remove the note and leave only the atonal texture, impact and vicious intention of the string behind to stalk and eventually kill you while you are asleep and defenseless. I have a great respect for that. Fuck you America. This is what you should be listening to."
By JOSE FRITZ from strandedinstereo.com
"Though this EP is short, it packs a punch. Or maybe a jab is more like it, since five of the six songs taper off before two and a half minutes. The Grand Rapids-based duet rely on repetition, both in lyrics and sound. Though the music is loud and distorted, the message never is. From anti-consumerism to disgust with the faux-necessary job world, criticism is this band's middle name - although it is doubtful they would mind the purchase of their album, which is possible at frictionrecords.net."
by Matt Jensen, Recoil
On "The Lake Effect" split release
"Any band whose name references He-Man is automatically good in my book. Fortuneately, Man at Arms also delivers musically on the "Lake Effect." Similar to Fugazi, with a vocal hint of early Superchunk, Man At Arms had me hooked on Munitions when they sneer, 'I'll take your girlfriend to the prom because I can do it better.' The intensity keeps up with 'Unmask the(sic) Lone Ranger,' a track that somehow manages to fit tight guitar picking and a dissonant interlude with Devo-inspired vocal phrasing. At times, Man At Arms may be pushing the creative envelope a bit too far, but overall, they are catchy band that is definitely worth the listen."
by John Mikulski, Aural Minority
"Man at Arms is louder, with jerky stop-start rhythms that would suggest 21st century post-hardcore if they werent so, well, skronky. Yes, the meaningless adjective that once described Brainiac will now be applied to Man at Arms wiry frenetics."
by Johnny Loftus, Detroit Metro Times , Feb. 2, 2005
On performing live
Last night in Detroit was a unique one. The two bands that got the show started seemed frightfully outta place. I mean, the first band was cool. It seemed like two dudes that jam in their garage. One dude makes a buncha noise on his guitar and lets out little yelps here and there when he can. And the other dude plays these monster loud fills on the drums.
From Limbeck's tour journal at limbeck.net , Sept. 2, 2005, the day after they played with us at Alvin's in Detroit (Thanks, Luke)
