album of the week: 3.4

The Menzingers

On The Impossible Past

(2012)

why you'll love it: Rousing ballads, honest and depressing lyrics

why you'll hate it: not doing a whole lot to stand out

This latest generation of melodic punk bands haven't done that much for me. I get a bit caught up in the hype around bands like The Lawrence Arms, The Gaslight Anthem, and None More Black; but once I start to settle down into one of their albums, little of it sticks. I think On The Impossible Past is the first album of this kind over the past 7 years that really has.

The Menzingers are doing a lot of what their peers are. Whisky drowned ballads told through power chords and grated vocals. The lyrics on this album have a sweet spot to them though. Depressing enough to set a tone, and realistic and grounded enough to keep from sounding naive and melodramatic. If I had any kind of talent and wrote songs, I'd like to think they'd go like this. So I have a sort of an appreciation for the pace and somber attitude reflected here.

This is one of those "What you hear is what you get" naked approaches to songwriting, so I don't have a whole lot to go on about. The songwriting feels very honest, almost Bruce Springsteen like, without sounding like it's trying to be. Nothing feels forced or tacked on. It's just a great album for jaded punks headed into their 30s to raise their beers to. There are a lot of those out there, but this one seemed to tug at just the right heartstrings for me; and my cynicism cannot detect any pandering to a certain crowd. Recommended!