Philadelphia-based punk band, The Menzingers will release their sixth studio record ‘Hello Exile’ on October 4 via Epitaph. The album arrives as the follow-up to the band’s 2017 critically acclaimed release ‘After The Party.’
In creating the album, the band again joined forces with producer Will Yip (Mannequin Pussy, Quicksand), spending six weeks recording at Yip’s Conshohocken, Pennsylvania-based Studio 4. “That’s the longest amount of time we’ve ever worked with Will,” notes vocalist Greg Barnett. “We wanted to make sure these stories didn’t get lost in the music, so we kept it to a lot of room sounds with the guitar and bass and drums.”
On ‘Hello Exile,’ The Menzingers take their lyrical narrative to a whole new level and share their reflections on moments from the past and present: high-school hellraising, troubled relationships, aging and alcohol, and political ennui. With the band achieving that soul-baring intimacy all throughout the album, ‘Hello Exile’ emerges as The Menzingers’ most emotionally daring work to date.
The band has also released the video for the first single off the forthcoming record, ‘Anna.’ On the track, The Menzingers turn their incisive songwriting to matters of love and romance, exploring the glories and failures of human connection. A wistful piece of jangle-pop, ‘Anna’ paints a portrait of lovesick longing, complete with dreamy recollections of wine-drunk kitchen dancing.
‘Hello Exile’ trackisting:
01. America (You’re Freaking Me Out)
02. Anna
03. High School Friend
04. Last to Know
05. Strangers Forever
06. Hello Exile
07. Portland
08. Strain Your Memory
09. I Can’t Stop Drinking
10. Strawberry Mansion
11. London Drugs
12. Farewell Youth