News

The Menzingers Announce New Album and London Show

• 19th Feb 2014

Philadelphia-based band The Menzingers will release their new album Rented World on 21st April in the UK via Epitaph Records. Rented World is the fourth studio release for the band and the follow-up to their critically-applauded album On The Impossible Past, which made it to the upper echelons of many an end of year list in 2012, being named Album of The Year in Rock Sound.

‘In Remission’ is the first track from the new album, and one where the band observes, “Maybe the future’s just a little bit weird”; a statement that sets the tone of Rented World.

Returning to the site of their first ever London show, The Menzingers have also announced a special one-off date at the Old Blue Last in London on 30th April to celebrate the release of Rented World. 100 tickets for the event will go on sale this Thursday 20th February at www.banquetrecords.com as part of a pre-order bundle with the album. On Friday 21st February, the remaining tickets go on sale at http://billetto.co.uk/the-menzingers with no album pre-order needed.

To record Rented World, The Menzingers entered Miner Street Studio in Fishtown, Philly for the first time in autumn 2013. Jonathan Low, whose rich Americana influences can be heard on his work with The National, Sharon Van Etten, and Kurt Vile was enlisted to engineer the album. When writing the new material, the band recognized the shifts in their craft, shifts they knew would best be handled by Low. “We wanted to go to somebody who wasn’t used to recording punk records, though it wasn’t in a pretentious way, like we wanted to become an indie rock band,” stated Tom May (guitar / vocals).

The end result is an album that fearlessly collides the snarl of emo with grungy, 90s grit whilst also exploring the celestial expanse of post-rock. Lyrically, it focuses on matters that any red blooded human also contending with their mid-20s can relate to.

The Rust Belt punks are in a crucial period of growth. Greg Barnett (guitar/vocals), Tom May (guitar/vocals), Eric Keen (bass), and Joe Godino (drums), seek a greater wisdom in life, even if they are old enough to know better. This is a theme that resonates strongly throughout the album.

“Things start to feel a little more serious,” says May. “When we were younger we wrote fiery songs because at that age it’s your world view. Now I look at the world and think ‘well, maybe I’m not right all the time.'”