Album Review: The Menzingers - Rented World

Album Rating: A-

The Menzingers are a band that has paid their dues. The Scranton, PA natives have been playing music for almost a decade, and have built themselves up from playing YMCA's in suburban Pennsylvania to full-fledged world-wide tours. It comes as no surprise then that their fourth full-length album, Rented World, is as mature and focused as they are. Following up 2012's highly acclaimed On The Impossible Past, must have been a heavy weight to bare, but The Menzingers have succeeded in creating an album that transitions easily from their past work, while also injecting a different tone and style.

Rented World can be said to be the best Weezer album since Pinkerton. From the basic artwork featuring only the title and the band members, to the actual music itself, Rented World has a distinct early Weezer vibe. Guitars are distorted heavily enough, but never too much, and melodies are catchy. The distinct "sing-a-long" mentality is present from the opening track, and single, "I Don't Want To Be An Asshole Anymore." It has a powerful chorus that's backed up by gang-vocal "whoas." The song kicks the album with a burst of energy and leads it forward through 12 tracks ranging from early 90's poppy punk ("The Talk") to the Bob Dylan-esque closer "When You Died."

The band equals out each fast, more punk sounding track with a slower more melodic one. Tracks like "Transient Love" and "Where Your Heartache Exists" bring the tempos down slightly and give room to breathe for both the listener and the band. These slower moments only help accentuate the louder more powerful moments such as the opening riff to "In Remission" or the pre-verse section of "Sentimental Physics." Both tracks showcase heavy power-chord riffs that are infused with copious amounts of distortion.

Where The Menzingers are really finding their sound is in their choruses, with each song have memorable hooks and catchy lyrics. Quickly scanning over the track list, you are able to recall each and every song's chorus with ease, and it only makes you want to listen to the album one more time. The band's last record, On The Impossible Past, was their breakthrough, and Rented World may fall a tiny bit short of the heights reached by its predecessor, but it is only because it is a slightly different direction for the group. Rented World seems like The Menzingers have become very comfortable with who they are and what music they make, and as their fourth album, it feels more like a new beginning for the group.


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Track list:

1. I Don't Want To Be An Asshole Anymore
2. Bad Things
3. Rodent
4. Where Your Heartache Exists
5. My Friend Kyle
6. Transient Love
7. The Talk
8. Nothing Feels Good Anymore
9. Hearts Unknown
10. In Remission
11. Sentimental Physics
12. When You Died

Casey's EPs, Songs, and Albums of 2012

Reflecting back on 2012, I can't help to compare it to 2011 due to the fact that I only started paying attention to a broader scope of music that year. As of now, 2012 feels a lot weaker at the top than 2011, however the depth far surpasses it. It pained me to leave off records such as Chromatics, Gifts From Enola, Lone, Masked Intruder and Savoir Adore, but this year just had too many strong albums to mention every single one of them. It's even crazier when you think that if you had told me that all of Two Door Cinema Club, Say Anything, Sleigh Bells and Motion City Soundtrack wouldn't have a place on this list, I would have thought you were crazy. Surely a couple of those could release poor albums, but there was no chance that all of them could. Alas, the worst happened, and none of those albums will receive any more mention than this. Pop punk also had a very down year after taking up three of my top five spots (or so) last year, and you won't find a record that I consider pop punk amongst the top 25. Bands you will find featured predominantly are fun., Yellowcard, Frank Ocean, Take One Car, Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky, ScHoolboy Q, and far more that you can find below. If you click on the name of the album, you will find links to our coverage. If you click on the name of the song, you will be taken to Youtube for a listen.

Best Of The Year 2012: First Half Update

Welcome to MuzikDizcovery's second edition of quarterly updates in 2012. Every staff member will put out a top five list, allowing them to showcase their absolute favorite records of 2012 to date. Additionally, it will be able to alert you of albums that you may not have heard of otherwise. This list does not only include albums that have been released as of June 30, as any album that we have heard so far this year is free to be included. Beach House, The Tallest Man On Earth, The Menzingers, fun., mewithoutYou, John Talabot, Athletics and Take One Car all feature prominently in our lists. If you click on the album name, you will be led to our review for the album (if we have done one). All the lists can be seen below the jump.

Album Review: The Menzingers - On the Impossible Past

Album Rating: A-

Nostalgia is bittersweet; reminiscing over a past memory can simultaneously create warm feelings as well as a void in one’s gut. We will all undoubtedly look back fondly at certain moments of our life, knowing that the expectations they built will never be met – but that’s okay, because we know that one day, we will be looking back at what is now the present in the same manner. The acceptance of this cycle seems to be the overall theme of The Menzingers' latest work, On the Impossible Past, in which front man Tom May takes us on a journey through his past experiences. Whether these instances were inglorious at the time or unforgettable, their absence is what continues to torment May.