After the Party (album) explained

After the Party
Type:studio
Artist:The Menzingers
Cover:After_the_Party_Menzingers.jpg
Border:yes
Recorded:April–May 2016
Studio:Studio 4
Genre:
Length:44:57
Label:Epitaph
Producer:Will Yip
Prev Title:Rented World
Prev Year:2014
Next Title:Hello Exile
Next Year:2019

After the Party is the fifth studio album by American punk rock band The Menzingers, released on February 3, 2017, through Epitaph Records. Despite the album's limited commercial success, peaking at No. 67 on the Billboard 200,[1] it received a positive critical reception and is considered by many publications and music critics to be one of 2017's best punk rock and overall albums.

Background and production

The Menzingers went on a co-headlining tour with MewithoutYou in November 2015 in support of their fourth album Rented World (2014). Vocalist/guitarist Greg Barnett was hoping that following the tour's end, the group would "wind down and start work on the next record."[2] The group took a break in November and December, before spending January–March 2016 writing After the Party. From the start of the writing process, Barnett became aware that the album would be "a love letter to our twenties."[3] The band took a break from writing to perform a couple of shows, which Barnett referred to as "that little extra push" near the end of the writing process.[4] The group began recording in April for a period of five and a half weeks,[4] ending in May.[5] The band worked with Will Yip at Studio 4.

Composition

The band intended to create a "fun" album where, according to Barnett, "you throw it on a jukebox in a bar and be fucking punk the whole night."[4] At the same time, they wanted to retain the "integrity" with the storytelling aspect of their songs.[4] Vocalist/guitarist Tom May described the album as "us saying, 'We don't have to grow up or get boring—we can keep on having a good time doing what we love.'" Dan Ozzi of Noisey wrote that "Lookers" features Barnett "looking at an old photo of himself with someone, and longing for the youth captured within."

Collin Robinson of Stereogum wrote that "Bad Catholics" is about "balancing the messiness of being human with the virtuousness impressed upon us by societal, religious, and personal beliefs."[6] The track was originally planned for release on a split, until "all of a sudden, everybody just started falling in love" with it, according to Barnett.[4] Barnett referred to the title-track as the "central emotional epiphany" of the record, "written in images." Barnett wanted to "use imagery as unexciting as the sludge in the bottom of a coffee cup to tell a bigger story."

Release

"Lookers" was made available for streaming on August 11, 2016,[7] before being released as a single four days later.[8] In August and September, the band went on a tour of the U.S. with Bayside and Sorority Noise.[7] The band went on a tour of Europe with The Bouncing Souls,[4] before going on a brief headlining tour of the UK in October.[9] On October 27, After the Party was announced for release, and the album's artwork and track listing was revealed.[10] On the same day, "Bad Catholics" was released as a single.[11] On November 15, a music video was released for "Bad Catholics", directed by Kevin Haus. The video is centred around a church picnic, which gets turned into a food fight by a few kids.[12] On December 12, a music video was released for "Lookers", directed by Sean Stoute. It is predominantly a live-performance video, along with footage of the group in their touring van.[13]

On January 9, 2017, "After the Party" was made available for streaming.[14] "Thick as Thieves" was released as a single on January 30.[15] After the Party was released on February 3, through Epitaph Records.[12] Shortly afterwards, the band went on a brief tour of Australia.[16] The band embarked on a headlining tour of the UK with support from The Flatliners in April 2017.[17]

Critical reception

After the Party received mostly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 80 based on 16 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[18]

Accolades

Publicationdata-sort-type="number"RankList
AllMusicN/AThe 25 Best Punk Albums of 2017[19]
Alternative PressN/AThe 40 Best Albums of 2017[20]
Blare Magazine1The 50 Best Albums of 2017[21]
Clash50The 50 Best Albums of 2017[22]
Kerrang!9The 50 Best Albums of 2017[23]
Newsday16The 20 Best Albums of 2017 So Far[24]
Noisey40The 100 Best Albums of 2017[25]
Sputnikmusic5The 50 Best Albums of 2017[26]
Stereogum26The 50 Best Albums of 2017 So Far[27]

Track listing

All tracks were written by The Menzingers.[28]

Notes and References

  1. The Menzingers - Chart history - Billboard. January 7, 2018. Billboard. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180305110057/https://www.billboard.com/music/the-menzingers/chart-history. March 5, 2018.
  2. Web site: The Menzingers return to The Lock Up stage: "It just feels like a punk show". DIY. Sonic Media Group. August 28, 2015. February 6, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170206185603/http://diymag.com/2015/08/28/the-menzingers-return-to-the-lock-up-stage-it-just-feels-like-a-punk-show. February 6, 2017.
  3. Web site: 'After The Party' By Philadelphia Punks The Menzingers Is One Of Early 2017's Best Albums. Uproxx. Woven Digital. Hyden, Steven. January 30, 2017. February 6, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170207031621/http://uproxx.com/music/the-menzingers-after-the-party-greg-barnett/3/. February 7, 2017.
  4. Web site: An Interview With The Menzingers: The Party's Here. The Aquarian Weekly. Diane Casazza, Chris Farinas. McGarth, Ryan. August 17, 2016. February 6, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170206184901/http://www.theaquarian.com/2016/08/17/an-interview-with-the-menzingers-the-partys-here/. February 6, 2017.
  5. Web site: The Menzingers finish recording new LP. Punknews.org. Aubin Paul. Gentile, John. May 12, 2016. February 6, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170207042305/https://www.punknews.org/article/60728/the-menzingers-finish-recording-new-lp. February 7, 2017.
  6. Web site: The Menzingers – "Bad Catholics". Stereogum. Prometheus Global Media. Robinson, Collin. October 27, 2016. February 3, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170204003936/http://www.stereogum.com/1907927/the-menzingers-bad-catholics/music/. February 4, 2017.
  7. Web site: Hear the Menzingers Get Nostalgic on a New Song, "Lookers". Noisey. Vice. Ozzi, Dan. August 11, 2016. February 3, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170204005150/https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/the-menzingers-lookers. February 4, 2017.
  8. Web site: Lookers - The Menzingers Release Info. AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC. February 3, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170204004919/http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/lookers-mr0004599344. February 4, 2017.
  9. Web site: The Menzingers are back with 'Lookers' and new UK dates!. DIY. Sonic Media Group. August 15, 2016. February 6, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170206185614/http://diymag.com/2016/08/15/the-menzingers-are-back-with-lookers-and-new-uk-dates. February 6, 2017.
  10. Web site: The Menzingers Announce New Album, Stream New Song. Kerrang!. Bauer Media Group. Emily. October 27, 2016. February 3, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170204082801/http://www.kerrang.com/45975/menzingers-announce-new-album-stream-new-song/. February 4, 2017.
  11. Web site: Bad Catholics - The Menzingers Release Info. AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC. February 3, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170204004827/http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/bad-catholics-mr0004631372. February 4, 2017.
  12. Web site: The Menzingers – "Bad Catholics" Video. Stereogum. Prometheus Global Media. Rettig, James. November 15, 2016. February 3, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170204003619/http://www.stereogum.com/1911370/the-menzingers-bad-catholics-video/video/. February 4, 2017.
  13. Web site: The Menzingers – "Lookers" Video. Stereogum. Prometheus Global Media. Breihan, Tom. December 12, 2016. February 3, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170204004348/http://www.stereogum.com/1915907/the-menzingers-lookers-video/video/. February 4, 2017.
  14. Web site: The Menzingers – "After The Party". Stereogum. Prometheus Global Media. Breihan, Tom. January 9, 2017. February 3, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170204004049/http://www.stereogum.com/1918874/the-menzingers-after-the-party/premiere/. February 4, 2017.
  15. Web site: Thick as Thieves - The Menzingers Release Info. AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC. February 3, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170204004024/http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/thick-as-thieves-mr0004656207. February 4, 2017.
  16. Web site: The Menzingers Announce 2017 Australian Tour & New Album 'After The Party'. MusicFeeds. Hohnen, Mike. October 28, 2016. February 6, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170206185100/http://musicfeeds.com.au/news/menzingers-announce-2017-australian-tour-new-album-party/. February 6, 2017.
  17. Web site: The Menzingers Announce 2017 UK Headline Tour. Kerrang!. Bauer Media Group. Emily. November 21, 2016. February 3, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170204003557/http://www.kerrang.com/46193/menzingers-announce-2017-uk-headline-tour/. February 4, 2017.
  18. Web site: Reviews for After the Party by The Menzingers. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. February 10, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170209070744/http://www.metacritic.com/music/after-the-party/the-menzingers. February 9, 2017.
  19. Web site: Favorite Punk Albums. December 28, 2017. AllMusic. June 17, 2020. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180522112739/https://www.allmusic.com/year-in-review/2017/favorite-punk. May 22, 2018.
  20. Web site: The 40 Best Albums of 2017. Alternative Press Staff. December 15, 2017. Alternative Press. January 7, 2018. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180108063807/https://www.altpress.com/features/entry/best_albums_2017/P2. January 8, 2018.
  21. Web site: The 50 Best Albums of 2017. Blare Magazine Staff. December 14, 2017. Blare Magazine. December 15, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20171216201102/http://blaremagazine.com/2017/12/14/the-50-best-albums-of-2017/. December 16, 2017.
  22. Web site: The 50 Best Albums of 2017. Clash Staff. December 19, 2017. Clash. January 7, 2018. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20171223044128/http://www.clashmusic.com/features/clash-albums-of-the-year-2017. December 23, 2017.
  23. Web site: The 50 Best Albums of 2017. Kerrang! Staff. December 29, 2017. Kerrang!. January 7, 2018. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180108064054/http://www.kerrang.com/features/kerrang-albums-of-2017/. January 8, 2018.
  24. Web site: The 20 Best Albums of 2017 So Far. Glenn Gamboa. June 28, 2017. Newsday. June 28, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170627210429/http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/music/best-albums-of-2017-1.13766887. June 27, 2017.
  25. Web site: The 100 Best Albums of 2017. Noisey Staff. December 6, 2017. Noisey. January 7, 2018. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180104064828/https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/pazbwn/noisey-100-best-albums-of-2017. January 4, 2018.
  26. Web site: The 50 Best Albums of 2017. Sputnikmusic Staff. December 22, 2017. Sputnikmusic. January 7, 2018.
  27. Web site: The 50 Best Albums of 2017 So Far. Stereogum Staff. June 6, 2017. Stereogum. June 26, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170621150120/http://www.stereogum.com/featured/the-50-best-albums-of-2017-so-far/. June 21, 2017.
  28. Web site: After the Party, by the Menzingers . 2017-06-14 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170923212428/https://themenzingers.bandcamp.com/album/after-the-party . 2017-09-23 .
  29. Web site: ARIA CHART WATCH #407. auspOp. February 11, 2017. February 11, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170316090057/https://www.auspop.com.au/2017/02/aria-chart-watch-407/. March 16, 2017.
  30. Web site: Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40. OfficialCharts.com. February 10, 2017. 15 April 2019.

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