After the Party (album)

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After the Party
Studio album by
The Menzingers
ReleasedFebruary 3, 2017 (2017-02-03)
RecordedApril–May 2016
StudioStudio 4
Genre
Length44:57
LabelEpitaph
ProducerWill Yip
The Menzingers chronology
Rented World
(2014) 		After the Party
(2017) 		Hello Exile
(2019)
Singles from After the Party
  1. "Lookers"
    Released: August 15, 2016
  2. "Bad Catholics"
    Released: October 27, 2016
  3. "Thick as Thieves"
    Released: January 30, 2017
  4. "After the Party"
    Released: March 23, 2017

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,[4] 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.[2]

Background and production[edit]

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."[5] The group took a break in November and December, before spending January–March 2016 writing After the Party.[1] 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.[1] The group began recording in April for a period of five and a half weeks,[1] ending in May.[6] The band worked with Will Yip at Studio 4.[7]

Composition[edit]

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."[1] At the same time, they wanted to retain the "integrity" with the storytelling aspect of their songs.[1] 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.'"[8] 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."[9]

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."[10] 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.[1] Barnett referred to the title-track as the "central emotional epiphany" of the record, "written in images."[11] Barnett wanted to "use imagery as unexciting as the sludge in the bottom of a coffee cup to tell a bigger story."[11]

Release[edit]

"Lookers" was made available for streaming on August 11, 2016,[9] before being released as a single four days later.[12] In August and September, the band went on a tour of the U.S. with Bayside and Sorority Noise.[9] The band went on a tour of Europe with The Bouncing Souls,[1] before going on a brief headlining tour of the UK in October.[13] On October 27, After the Party was announced for release, and the album's artwork and track listing was revealed.[8] On the same day, "Bad Catholics" was released as a single.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16]

On January 9, 2017, "After the Party" was made available for streaming.[11] "Thick as Thieves" was released as a single on January 30.[17] After the Party was released on February 3, through Epitaph Records.[15] Shortly afterwards, the band went on a brief tour of Australia.[7] The band embarked on a headlining tour of the UK with support from The Flatliners in April 2017.[18]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic80/100[21]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[19]
Blurt[20]
Clash8/10[22]
Drowned in Sound9/10[23]
Exclaim!9/10[24]
Kerrang![25]
The New York TimesFavorable[26]
PopMatters8/10[27]
Punknews[28]
Sputnikmusic[29]

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".[21]

Accolades[edit]

Publication Rank List
AllMusic N/A The 25 Best Punk Albums of 2017[2]
Alternative Press N/A The 40 Best Albums of 2017[30]
Blare Magazine 1 The 50 Best Albums of 2017[31]
Clash 50 The 50 Best Albums of 2017[32]
Kerrang! 9 The 50 Best Albums of 2017[33]
Newsday 16 The 20 Best Albums of 2017 So Far[34]
Noisey 40 The 100 Best Albums of 2017[35]
Sputnikmusic 5 The 50 Best Albums of 2017[36]
Stereogum 26 The 50 Best Albums of 2017 So Far[37]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks were written by The Menzingers.[38]

No.TitleLength
1."Tellin' Lies"4:00
2."Thick as Thieves"3:15
3."Lookers"3:37
4."Midwestern States"3:27
5."Charlie's Army"2:32
6."House on Fire"3:38
7."Black Mass"2:53
8."Boy Blue"3:20
9."Bad Catholics"2:52
10."Your Wild Years"3:55
11."The Bars"4:11
12."After the Party"3:50
13."Livin' Ain't Easy"3:26
Total length:44:57

Charts[edit]

Chart (2017) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[39] 61
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[40] 175
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[41] 66
Scottish Albums (OCC)[42] 65
UK Vinyl Albums(OCC)[43] 24
US Billboard 200[44] 67
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[45] 2
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[46] 8

Release history[edit]

Region Date Format(s) Label
United States February 3, 2017
Epitaph

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h McGarth, Ryan (August 17, 2016). "An Interview With The Menzingers: The Party's Here". The Aquarian Weekly. Diane Casazza, Chris Farinas. Archived from the original on February 6, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "Favorite Punk Albums". AllMusic. December 28, 2017. Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Hyden, Steven (January 30, 2017). "'After The Party' By Philadelphia Punks The Menzingers Is One Of Early 2017's Best Albums". Uproxx. Woven Digital. Archived from the original on February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  4. ^ "The Menzingers - Chart history - Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  5. ^ "The Menzingers return to The Lock Up stage: "It just feels like a punk show"". DIY. Sonic Media Group. August 28, 2015. Archived from the original on February 6, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  6. ^ Gentile, John (May 12, 2016). "The Menzingers finish recording new LP". Punknews.org. Aubin Paul. Archived from the original on February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Hohnen, Mike (October 28, 2016). "The Menzingers Announce 2017 Australian Tour & New Album 'After The Party'". MusicFeeds. Archived from the original on February 6, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  8. ^ a b Emily (October 27, 2016). "The Menzingers Announce New Album, Stream New Song". Kerrang!. Bauer Media Group. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  9. ^ a b c Ozzi, Dan (August 11, 2016). "Hear the Menzingers Get Nostalgic on a New Song, "Lookers"". Noisey. Vice. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  10. ^ Robinson, Collin (October 27, 2016). "The Menzingers – "Bad Catholics"". Stereogum. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  11. ^ a b c Breihan, Tom (January 9, 2017). "The Menzingers – "After The Party"". Stereogum. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  12. ^ "Lookers - The Menzingers | Release Info". AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  13. ^ "The Menzingers are back with 'Lookers' and new UK dates!". DIY. Sonic Media Group. August 15, 2016. Archived from the original on February 6, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  14. ^ "Bad Catholics - The Menzingers | Release Info". AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  15. ^ a b Rettig, James (November 15, 2016). "The Menzingers – "Bad Catholics" Video". Stereogum. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  16. ^ Breihan, Tom (December 12, 2016). "The Menzingers – "Lookers" Video". Stereogum. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  17. ^ "Thick as Thieves - The Menzingers | Release Info". AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  18. ^ Emily (November 21, 2016). "The Menzingers Announce 2017 UK Headline Tour". Kerrang!. Bauer Media Group. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  19. ^ Monger, Timothy. "After the Party - The Menzingers | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. All Media Network, LLC. Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  20. ^ Clegg, Jeff (3 February 2017). "THE MENZINGERS – After the Party". Blurt. Blurt, LLC. Archived from the original on February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  21. ^ a b "Reviews for After the Party by The Menzingers". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on February 9, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  22. ^ Beech, Dave (February 2, 2017). "The Menzingers - After The Party | Reviews". Clash. Clash Music. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  23. ^ Otsa, Jamie (February 2, 2017). "Album Review: The Menzingers - After the Party / Releases / Releases". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  24. ^ Feibel, Adam (February 1, 2017). "The Menzingers - After The Party". Exclaim!. 1059434 Ontario Inc. Archived from the original on February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  25. ^ Law, Sam (January 28, 2017). "Philadelphia garage-punks don't miss a (heart) beat on surging, emo-tastic fifth outing". Kerrang!. No. 1655. Bauer Media Group. p. 51. ISSN 0262-6624.
  26. ^ Caramanica, Jon (February 1, 2017). "The Menzingers' Ragged Punk Peeks in the Rearview Mirror". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  27. ^ Carr, Paul (February 2, 2017). "The Menzingers: After the Party". PopMatters. PopMatters Media, Inc. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 3, 2017.
  28. ^ "The Menzingers: After the Party". Punknews. Archived from the original on 2017-02-12.
  29. ^ "Review: The Menzingers - After the Party | Sputnikmusic".
  30. ^ Alternative Press Staff (December 15, 2017). "The 40 Best Albums of 2017". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  31. ^ Blare Magazine Staff (December 14, 2017). "The 50 Best Albums of 2017". Blare Magazine. Archived from the original on December 16, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  32. ^ Clash Staff (December 19, 2017). "The 50 Best Albums of 2017". Clash. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  33. ^ Kerrang! Staff (December 29, 2017). "The 50 Best Albums of 2017". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on January 8, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  34. ^ Glenn Gamboa (June 28, 2017). "The 20 Best Albums of 2017 So Far". Newsday. Archived from the original on June 27, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
  35. ^ Noisey Staff (December 6, 2017). "The 100 Best Albums of 2017". Noisey. Archived from the original on January 4, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  36. ^ Sputnikmusic Staff (December 22, 2017). "The 50 Best Albums of 2017". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  37. ^ Stereogum Staff (June 6, 2017). "The 50 Best Albums of 2017 So Far". Stereogum. Archived from the original on June 21, 2017. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  38. ^ "After the Party, by the Menzingers". Archived from the original on 2017-09-23. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
  39. ^ "ARIA CHART WATCH #407". auspOp. February 11, 2017. Archived from the original on March 16, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  40. ^ "Ultratop.be – The Menzingers – After the Party" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  41. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Menzingers – After the Party" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  42. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
  43. ^ "Official Vinyl Albums Chart Top 40". OfficialCharts.com. February 10, 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  44. ^ "The Menzingers Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  45. ^ "The Menzingers Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  46. ^ "The Menzingers Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
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