At this point, the Menzingers are an absolute institution. The Philadelphia punk legends’ multi-decade reputation as road warriors with an unbeatable catalog is cemented as hard truth—and their seventh album, Some Of It Was True, stands as their most immediate-sounding and energetic record to date. The follow-up to 2019’s sensational Hello Exile accomplishes the daunting task of capturing the Menzingers’ distinctive live energy in the confines of the studio, resulting in a sound that’s both rich, raw, and complementary to the group’s increasingly prismatic songwriting approach. More than 15 years in, the Menzingers are still holding their listeners square in the immediate present, and Some Of It Was True documents that power in thrilling fashion.
Joyce Manor are California pop-punk legends and I Used To Go To This Bar is this epochal band operating at the top of their game. They continue to deliver relentlessly satisfying rock music in a manner that makes it look simply effortless. The Torrance, California-hailing trio of Barry Johnson, Chase Knobbe, and Matt Ebert are at a point in their career where their position as one of the most beloved rock bands is a foregone conclusion. Their seventh album, produced by Brett Gurewitz (of Bad Religion and Epitaph Records CEO) finds the group continuing to find rich new veins to tap in their short-and-sweet songcraft without losing an ounce of bite that gained them such repute in the first place. A bustle of activity that followed the release of 2022’s excellent 40 Oz. to Fresno and included an instantly memorable appearance on John Mulaney’s Everybody’s in L.A. and a retrospective assessment of the group’s seminal 2011 self-titled debut as part of Pitchfork’s esteemed Sunday Review series. The band’s had a whirlwind touring schedule over the last few years, which has included an outing with Weezer and multiple sold-out shows at the legendary California venues Hollywood Palladium (including a guest performance by Mark Hoppus for the fan favorite “Heart Tattoo”) and Long Beach Arena. This new record retains the band’s penchant for punchy hooks while sounding fuller, more in-your-face, and all-around bigger than ever, with an all-star crew of collaborators along for this wild ride. Along with mixing pro Tony Hoffer (M83, Beck), behind-the-boards legend Tom Lord-Alge lent his Enema of the State engineer magic to several I Used To Go To This Bar cuts, including the first single “All My Friends Are So Depressed.” The album also features a rotating cast of drummers, including touring drummer Jared Shavelson, Social Distortion’s David Hildago, Jr., and Joey Waronker—the latter of whom is currently hitting the skins for Oasis’ reunion tour.