The Menzingers – Hello Exile

Scranton, Pennsylvania quartet The Menzingers have undergone various refinements over the years, but since After The Party, they seem to have settled into approaching their middle years with poise and acceptance.  The band may no longer belt youthful discontent from the rooftops at the top of their lungs, but they can offer insightful reflection and scrutiny of social and personal issues.  For their sixth full length, Hello Exile, The Menzingers further their evolving brand of adult-oriented punk with a new album of mid-life coming of age.

Opener “America (You’re Freaking Me Out)” kicks off this mid-tempo exposition with vocalist Greg Barnett contextualizing his mindset by belting his angsty mid-life realizations.  Reflecting on his own context and complacency, Barnett situates himself in the question, “oh, how do I steer my early 30’s / before I shipwreck before im 40 / oh, ain’t it a shame what we choose to ignore.” The album sets up a front for tackling a generational divide by asking, “what kind of monsters did our parents vote for / lately I feel like I’m in puppet vichy, france tryin’ to teach the devil how to dance.”  Paired with loads of swooping “ooh-ooh-ooh” heavy chorus lines, there isn’t much here to deter one from singing along.  

While the album starts off politically charged, the band pivots direction soon after.  For instance, follow up “Anna” feels strikingly casual and nostalgic, much like something that Brian Fallon might have penned for The Gaslight Anthem during their SideOneDummy years.  Lines like, “the way you’d laugh and dance in the kitchen / after drinking too much cheap red wine,” provoke a velvety warmth that would have felt foriegn to fans ten years back, but comes across intuitively in the present.  “High School Friend” follows with similar sentiment, taking comfort in the camaraderie of childhood friends that accept us without judgement and “know all the ups and downs each other have been through.” While the album tends to play at a mid to slow tempo, songs like “Strain Your Memory” offer a reinvigorating beat at just the right time.  Like a fading patient on the operating room table receiving a jolt to restart the heart, drummer Joe Godino keeps up a steady pitter-patter throughout. “Strawberry Mansion” feels akin to contemporary Anti-Flag in conviction, ensuring that even when the pace dips the passion stays strong.

A co-worker of mine once described The Menzingers as a “rabid good time” when they experienced them live for the first time after opening for an early career The Gaslight Anthem show. That couldn’t be further from the present – and that’s just fine.  Each track maintains charisma and showcases the band’s knack for reaching their target audience – even if they’ve slowed down and stick to a familiar formula.  Hello Exile is a natural extension in The Menzingers’ evolution, with a passion and fire that continues to burn bright even after all these years.