The Menzingers - Hello Exile (October 4, 2019) Album • Page 108

I like this

 

I really like this.

 

It's alright. I'm starting to think I'm personally jumping the shark on the whole punk goes Americana thing though because I probably would've enjoyed this more like five years ago.

 

I like Greg's new song a lot more than I enjoyed Hello/From Exile. I don't think HE/FE are bad, just the absolute most boring thing The Menzingers have ever done. Probably a hot take but I genuinely can't listen to them. After The Party was great, so I have faith these guys can do better. One miss in a discography of hits is nothing.

 

If him making this solo record leaves room for more aggression on the next Menzingers record, I'm all for it

 

I agree. I want more aggression on the next record. I’d also really enjoy if they didn’t record with Yip. The production of HE made it really hard to me to get into most of the songs.

 

People keep saying that HE was a Yip issue, but he also produced After The Party which is arguably their best sounding record. More likely than not the whole reverb-y thing was a band stylistic choice, which is fine, but not my favorite personally.

 

Clearly this sound has been bubbling under the surface for Greg to explore more.

I’m quite excited to hear his solo record and I hope the next record Menzingers record is balance like we used to from them. I did enjoy having a bride song like Black Mass or Hellow Exile.

I hope The Menzingers keep going strong and I was hoping they’d have a record later this year. No idea if that happen or not. Also, I hope they don’t feel the need to always use the distant vocal effect all the time on their next record.

 

They used it in the opening of Lookers which was cool. I just don’t know if it was required so heavily on HE. I’m expecting it on Roses now after hearing the single. I just want them to be selective, whomever is deciding.

 

Oh boy I can't wait until Greg's solo album releases and we can look forward to more Will Yip discourse

 

the second best thing about chorus other than album rankings

 

Yip's produced some good albums and has had questionable production choices on others. I feel like stirring the pot this morning so fuck it.

 

He did a great job on ATP. Again, HE has a lot of moments where the vocals that were recorded just sound flat where they didn’t need to Like America. Whomever decided. A solo album is a great place to experiment though, because it’s kind of fresh start. Although the vocal effect didn’t bother me on the song Hello Exile because it seemed to fit thematically (exile and distance in my connective mind). Also Drinking. Or the vocal high point bridge on Anna where he’s asking her to comeback from somewhere distant.

 

I don’t know a lot of his production work specifically, but liked Tunrover’s Blue EP and Peripheral Vision but not Good Nature so much.

 

I realize my hearing is going so it's more a problem with me than the album, but there are a bunch of places on HE the album where I feel like I'm actively struggling to hear the vocals and make out what is being said, which is a bummer because otherwise I do think it's a great album.

 

HE being bad is entirely a songwriting issue to me. almost menzingers song generator type stuff

 

idk i never got the dislike for the reverb on HE at all. sounds nice w gregs vocal style honestly and theyve always had a bit of a reverby sound anyways.

 

Read Brother Beck’s post above. There are few moments where the vocals are buried and muddy. I’d say they feel like someone’s singing in the bathroom with the mic in the next room.

I get the thematic use, Exile, and distance. Just saying there are moments that feel compromised. Not that you can’t use the effect. I still listen to HE a lot. Ted Hutt used a vocal effect on Gaslight Anthem’s ‘59 Sound it what feels like a thematic effect (like the needle scratch play sound when you put on and old record). Ted never compromised Brian’s vocals to the same extent Will did on HE.

 

"Portland" still rips.

 

Strangers Forever is my favourite from that record.

 

eh i grew up on some pretty low fi music so vocals being a little lower in volume/harder to make out doesnt bother me at all. if anything i prefer it for punk oriented stuff anyway

 

Yeah the constant reverb is definitely an issue for me. I don’t mind the occasional use but it takes away when used too often and this band can write some bangers that don’t need to rely so heavily on those effects.

 

After the Party sounds incredible, this albums somehow just sounded super mid focused. I wonder if that was something the band was going for deliberately.

 

guessing it’s probably not that. We have ATP to compare to and we’re not talking about having a decent producer, time, budget, equipment and so on.

 

not denying that even their earliest stuff sounds pretty professional. im just saying im really used to not being able to make out the vocals in music so the muddy moments on an otherwise crisp record dont bother me none