After the Party [LP] *

Rating

Album: After the Party [LP] *
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Tellin' Lies	More Info...
2)	Thick As Thieves	More Info...
3)	Lookers	More Info...
4)	Midwestern States	More Info...
5)	Charlie's Army	More Info...
6)	House On Fire	More Info...
7)	Black Mass	More Info...
8)	Boy Blue	More Info...
9)	Bad Catholics	More Info...
10)	Your Wild Years	More Info...
11)	The Bars	More Info...
12)	After the Party	More Info...
13)	Livin' Ain't Easy	More Info...

Album: After the Party [LP] *
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Tellin' Lies	More Info...
2)	Thick As Thieves	More Info...
3)	Lookers	More Info...
4)	Midwestern States	More Info...
5)	Charlie's Army	More Info...
6)	House On Fire	More Info...
7)	Black Mass	More Info...
8)	Boy Blue	More Info...
9)	Bad Catholics	More Info...
10)	Your Wild Years	More Info...
11)	The Bars	More Info...
12)	After the Party	More Info...
13)	Livin' Ain't Easy	More Info...

Performer Notes

Pennsylvanian punks the Menzingers deepen their ruminations of the self with After the Party, their big-hearted fifth LP and third release for Epitaph. Nostalgic leanings are nothing new to the Menzingers, who have been growing ever more introspective with each release, but as the Scranton natives age into their thirties, they've struck a resilient tone that plays well against their grandiose guitar rock. Led by co-vocalists Greg Barnett and Tom May, the Menzingers put forth a rip-roaring sound for the masses that still harks back to the Rust Belt Americana punk that helped them earn their fans in the first place. While questions like "Where are we gonna go now that our twenties are over?" will connect most squarely with their own generation, the uncertainty of aging into new responsibilities is a threshold every punk must cross, and the Menzingers do so here with undimmed vitality on opener "Tellin' Lies." Nearly every song boasts bold, rousing riffs thanks to the band's own muscle and producer Will Yip's beefy production, but it's the big melodies that keep their ship sailing forward. Standouts like "Thick as Thieves," "Lookers," "Bad Catholics," and the stoutly sung anthem "The Bars" show the Menzingers in fine form at a career point when many begin to go stale or diverge into different directions altogether. Sure, they're not breaking the mold, but with After the Party, they manage to toe the line between subtlety and vigor, aging into their next phase with another solid release. ~ Timothy Monger

Professional Reviews

Alternative Press - 4 stars out of 5 -- "AFTER THE PARTY is another sterling installment, littered with picturesque punk-rock imagery, semi-renounced Catholic upbringings and the haunts of Asbury Park and Philadelphia."

Clash (magazine) - "While The Menzingers have always had the ability to paint pictures of a quintessential American youth, it seems with AFTER THE PARTY such narratives come from a more sincere, introspective position..."