Album Review: Rented World by The Menzingers

The Menzingers are a punk rock band from Scranton, Pennsylvania who recently released their fourth album Rented World on Epitaph Records. Their previous album On The Impossible Past (released in 2012) was a huge success and great things were expected from this follow up.

Happily in does not disappoint.

Rented World opens up with the brilliant I Don’t Want To Be An Asshole Anymore. A song where lead singer Greg Barnett seemingly is apologising for his wrong doings and wanting to make himself a better person. This is a classic Menzingers sing-along anthem and is already a favourite of their live set.

The next two tracks immediately slow things down and take a darker turn. Bad Things is a song about being stuck and looking for a way to escape by any means necessary and Rodent is about being so low and not caring anymore and comparing yourself to a rat that lives in a wall.

The next track Where Your Heartache Exists is a great example of Barnetts vocal range singings smoothly until towards the middle when it becomes rough, showing desperation in the song. Following this the album picks up the pace again with the excellent My Friend Kyle. This is a song about a friends who has died and talks about him being in a better place and not forgetting about him.

The Talk comes in at track number seven is one of the punchier songs on Rented World. A song about a break up with short lined verses and finishes the angry shouting of “I’m Not Like You!” which is sure to be huge with a live crowd. Nothing Feels Good Anymore is another mid tempo passionate track about a struggling to get over a break up.

Another stand out track is In Remission. It’s a bouncy rough around the edges song with a massive chorus . The lyric “If Everyone Needs A Crutch Then I Need A Wheelchair” is classic Menzingers song writing.

Rented World closes with the acoustic When You Died. This is a bruising and emotional song about struggling with the loss of a loved one. The chorus is one of the saddest I’ve ever heard. It goes “Where Do People Go When They Die? How Dow You Keep Them Alive? How Do You Make Sure That Something Like This Won’t Ever Happen Again? Not To Any Other Friends.”

Overall Rented World is yet another strong release from The Menzingers. With every album they somehow manage to make it sound different to the last release without straying from their “sound.” This is a sign of a truly brilliant band.

Now Listening To: I Don't Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore by The Menzingers