''Hello Exile'' is the sixth studio album by American

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band

the Menzingers The Menzingers are an American punk rock band from Scranton, Pennsylvania, formed in 2006. The band consists of Greg Barnett (vocals, guitar), Tom May (vocals, guitar), Eric Keen (bass) and Joe Godino (drums). To date, the band has released eigh ...

, released on October 4, 2019, through

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. A large portion of the record label, known as Hellcat Records, is owned by Tim Armstrong, frontman of the punk rock band Rancid. Several ...

. Considered the band’s most musically diverse album to date by critics, the record draws influence from

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

, and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

Background and production

Unlike previous albums which the band wrote while touring, the band started writing ''Hello Exile'' in December 2018 following the end of the

After the Party After may refer to: Literature * ''After'' (Elgar), an 1895 poem by Philip Bourke Marston set to music by Edward Elgar * ''After'' (Prose novel), a 2003 novel by Francine Prose * ''After'' (Chalifour book), a 2005 book by Canadian writer Francis ...

tour. Guitarist and vocalist Greg Barnett decided to write songs about "contemplating how to age gracefully" rather than the "mistakes of adolescence" which much of the songs on their previous records were about. The band intentionally focused much heavier on the inspiration of the classic rock artists that they grew up listening to such as

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

and

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the leader and frontman of the Rock music, rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s sup ...

. While writing the album they "fell in love with songwriting and the idea of how powerful a well constructed song is". Similar to ''

'', the band hired producer

Will Yip William Yip ( Chinese: 葉浩仁; born February 18, 1987) is an American record producer, audio engineer, songwriter and musician. Yip is an owner of Studio 4 Recording in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Yip is also the owner of Memory Music, an indep ...

and recorded at Studio 4 in

Conshohocken, Pennsylvania Conshohocken ( ; ) is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough on the Schuylkill River in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania in suburban Philadelphia. Historically a large mill town and industrial and manufacturing center, after the decline of industry in ...

over the course of six weeks. The album was intentionally an emotionally heavy album for the band focusing on theme of US politics, climate change, loss, long-distance relationships and growing old. The album's first single "Anna" was released alongside the album's announcement on July 15, 2019. The song was described as "jangle-pop" and "a grand, romantic plea to a significant other who's away too much". It was considered to show the band's evolution from the band's older hard-hitting

style to a more

heartland rock Heartland rock is a genre of rock music characterized by a straightforward, often roots musical style, often with a focus on blue-collar workers, and a conviction that rock music has a social or communal purpose beyond just entertainment. The g ...

-based punk sound. The second single and opening track of the album, "America (You’re Freaking Me Out)", was written to represent the current American political climate and the "evil" people in charge of the country. Describing the track, Barnett stated "as I was writing that song I realized that it's kind of always freaked me out, especially coming-of-age during the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

. I love so much about America, but I think you can't deny that there are some people in power who are absolutely evil." The third single "Strangers Forever" was inspired by

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

's novel ''

Anna Karenina ''Anna Karenina'' ( rus, Анна Каренина, p=ˈanːə kɐˈrʲenʲɪnə) is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in book form in 1878. Tolstoy called it his first true novel. It was initially released in serial in ...

''. In a statement Barnett said "the idea of becoming a stranger to someone you so intimately know stuck with me and became the overarching narrative to this song".

Release

The album was released in October 2019. Through the beginning of 2020, following the Coronavirus Pandemic, the band spent a few months re-recording 'Hello Exile' from their separate locations into an acoustic version of the album released as 'From Exile' on September 25, 2020. From Exile was mixed and mastered by Will Yip, the tracks “I Can't Stop Drinking" and "Last to Know" included additional instrumentation performed by Kayleigh Goldsworthy on violin.

Critical reception

''Hello Exile'' received generally positive reviews from music critics. At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

the album received a 75/100 based on 10 critics reviews. Many critics praised the band's songwriting and described it as "poignant and sharp yet delicate and immensely personal." The band were praised for managing to age gracefully on the album and was described as "an honest portrayal of where they are at this point in their life: not ready to settle down and give up the 4 A.M. nights at the dive bar down the street, but also realizing that those around them are in the process of doing so."

Track listing

Personnel

The Menzingers * Eric Keen - bass * Greg Barnett - vocals, guitar * Joe Godino - drums, percussion * Tom May - vocals, guitar Technical personnel *

- production, mixing, engineering *

Vince Ratti Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer (often referred to as simply Zolof) were an American pop rock band that originated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania through core members Vince Ratti and Rachel Minton alongside Anthony Green. Their music, defined ...

- mixing * Ryan Smith - mastering at Sterling Sound, NYC * Pamela Littky - front cover photo

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2019 albums The Menzingers albums Epitaph Records albums Albums produced by Will Yip Heartland rock albums