Album Review: Rented World by The Menzingers

Pennsylvanian punk band The Menzingers released their fourth album Rented World on the 21^st April. It’s a glorious slab of American punk rock. From start to finish it is crammed with hooks and a feel good factor that gets you nodding along and loving every second.

Let me start off my saying The Menzingers are one of ADs favourite bands. Whether it be the heartfelt distinctive vocal of Greg Barnett or the pop savvy music, it immediately clear that The Menzingers excel within the punk genre. Previous album On the Impossible Past saw the band move up a couple of gears and shift towards a more accomplished and mature punk sound. This forward movement is keeping speed with Rented World. Naturally you get the cliché lyrical content of love, lost and setting the world to rights that comes with all punk albums, but what does it matter when the album is as good as this?

Picking a weak song on Rented World is impossible, picking a couple of standout tracks is just as difficult. It’s an amazingly strong album with no filler. Album opener ‘I Don’t Want To Be An Asshole Anymore’ kicks things off with a storming introduction – the guitars build up to a rousing chorus. It’s ridiculously catchy.

‘Bad Things’ starts off gently before the spine tingling riffs kick in at 40 seconds. If you’re looking for a comparison, liking The Menzingers to a mid-90s Offspring wouldn’t be too wide of the mark, but perhaps more accurately you’d look at the ever maturing Alkaline Trio.  Barnett’s impassioned vocal comes to the fore in ‘Rodent’ with the driving bass and drums it’s another sing a long anthem.  With ‘Where Your Heartache Exists’ you get an expertly written pop song, you can try your best not to sing a long and nod your head, but you’ll fail.

‘My Friend Kyle’ and ‘Transient Love’ continue with instantaneous pop hooks before ‘The Talk’ blows things out of the water. The guitar riffs are powerful and churning, the vocals are chanted at you with force, it’s a full on balls to the wall punk frenzy. With it being the shortest track on Rented World it packs a punch before the sudden finish throws you into the delicate opening of ‘Nothing Feels Good Anymore’. Unlike its title the track is surprisingly breezy and feel good (if you don’t pay close attention to the lyrics).

‘In Remission’ is another gem. Again the guitars have a real life affirming feeling, while the content of the track may not be the most the happiest; you end up getting a great uplifting feeling from the track. Album closer ‘When You Died’ is a slow acoustic number. It won’t take a genius to deduce that this is a sombre number. Wrought with emotion, it’s the ideal counter to the rest of the album.

Rented World is a superb punk rock album. It sets The Menzingers out as genre leaders and gives them a launch pad to go onto great things.

AD rating 9/10.