THINGS I LIKE #2
THE MENZINGERS - AFTER THE PARTY (2017) On The Impossible Past holds a very special place in my heart, and it always will. The 2012 album showcased a bit of a change in sound for the Menzingers and was really about maturing within the punk scene. It has one of my favorite songs of all time in “Casey” and it was the first Menzingers album that I ever listened to. It was released right about at the point when my music tastes were taking shape. I was an 18 year old freshman in college, on my own for the first time. I had just discovered The Wonder Years and Four Year Strong and Marlboro Reds. On The Impossible Past sounds like Cleveland. It’s grey, it’s angsty, but at the same time hopeful. It will always be in my Top 10 all time punk albums. That long winded introduction was an elaborate set up so that I can say The Menzingers’ 2017 release After The Party is a better album. After how great OTIP was, the Scranton, PA based quartets last release, Rented World was an ENORMOUS let down for me, save for the two lead singles. With that in mind, and loving all of the singles released leading up to the album, I was still skeptical. This album blew all my expectations out of the water. On this album, The Menzingers manage to do something that many bands in the scene fail to do: age gracefully. The album opens extremely strong on “Tellin’ Lies,” a ridiculously catchy chorus and the bounciest song on the entire album. As in many great albums, the opener presents the thesis to the entire album. The set up: “taken hostage by a guilty conscience/when are we gonna quit this nonsense/ everyone’s asking me over and over/but I don’t mind telling lies” from the chorus. And the definitive answer: “We’re all the same/nothing’s gonna change us” from the final refrain. The lead single “Lookers” is remarkable. Somehow nostalgic and anticipatory at the same time, the chorus is one of the most fun I’ve heard in a long time. The verse lyrics hit even my cold, sheltered, 23 year old punk heart in just the right way, I felt connected to the narrative. They played it live on their 2016 summer tour with Bayside, and it was even more fun in concert. “Lookers” was maybe my favorite song of 2016, but it may not be my favorite song on this album. That distinction might go to the following track, “Midwestern States”. An harrowing tale of the narrator and his girlfriend moving cross country to Los Angeles and telling the story to his friend who is putting them up for the night in Chicago. Another ridiculously catchy hook. You can’t help but want to sing it even if it’s not playing. If After The Party is going to be in AOTY considerations, “Your Wild Years” has to be in the Song Of The Year discussions. Everything in this song works perfectly, seamlessly together. The story of visiting the narrator’s girlfriend’s family in Boston, WANTING to put up with the in-laws, looking through the relics of her old bedroom, discovering where she’s from and how she became what she is, the desperation in lead singer Greg Barnett’s voice in the third verse. Everyone I’ve talked to about the album says this is their favorite track. The title track “After The Party” is the closest they get to their “old sound.” The lyrics cut deep, the sound isn’t too polished, the vocals are gruff. But there is a reason the album is named after it. It embodies the theme of the album, metaphorically growing out of their collective 20s where most punk attitudes live, and literally the aftermath of the party that exists in the narrative of the song. Waking up the morning after, just wanting to lay in bed, getting over second rate tattoos and jean jackets and obscure punk bands. Wanting to dance just for the sake of dancing, not caught up in the rat race that is the music scene anymore. The Menzingers have really hit their songwriting stride here. This album boasts their catchiest hooks ever, and some of their most memorable melodies (e.g. “Thick As Thieves”, “Charlie’s Army”, “Boy Blue”, “House On Fire”). Co-lead singers/songwriters Greg Barnett and Tom May’s songs stand up equally strong with each other - which is something I personally felt was missing from the previous two albums. Something I do miss however is the dual lead vocals from An Abuse Of Information Technology and Chamberlain Waits.
The one weak spot on the album is the final track “Livin’ Ain’t Easy.”Lyrically it summarizes the album decently enough, but it’s a bit of a bore, and it doesn’t gel with the tone of the rest of the album very much all. I’m not saying slow songs are bad, “Black Mass” is one of my favorite tracks on the whole album, I just wish they would close out the album with something a bit more engaging. If they had finished with “After The Party” it would have worked perfectly.
I’ve read reviews about how On The Impossible Past is an album about teenage punks maturing into their twenties. I’ve heard some say that Rented World is an album about people maturing a dealing with real world issues. And now, the initial reviews for After The Party say that its an album about what happens when punks age out. Maybe the Menzingers are a just band focused on maturing as people. This album presents that message and their current emotional state very nicely, cohesively and concisely. Without question it’s their best album to date sonically speaking, the music all works together and with the lyrics, it’s catchy, it’s moody, it’s dark, and it’s fun. Deep down it’s still punk at its root, just like the “aging” band. It’s only February, but in my mind, and I think in a lot of others in the genre, After The Party the front runner for album of the year. It’s going to take something really groundbreaking to knock it off the top of my list. OVERALL: 8.5/10 This thing is really worth a listen if you’re at all acquainted with alternate music.