Record Label: Red Scare
Genre: Punk Rock
Band Link: www.myspace.com/themenzingers
Buy on Amazon.com

The Menzingers are now on Red Scare and their newest album “Chamberlain Waits” came out in April. If you haven’t heard of these guys yet; trust me, you will. They hail from Scranton and Philly, PA and no, Michael Scott and Andy Barnard are not in the band.

They play melodic punk rock, and have a similar sound to such bands as The Clash, Anti-Flag, and The Lawrence Arms. Speaking of the Lawrence Arms, Brendan Kelly sings back-up on track 8 “So It Goes.” I’ve seen the band play twice but never heard their music on CD until now. Honestly, I’m quite impressed! I saw them play first at the Big Orange Bonanza in Circleville NY and really dug their sound. They covered the Clash so they were A-OK in my book. The second time I saw them play at Café Metropolis in Wilkes-Barre where they were playing on home turf. The crowd went just as crazy for them as they did for Gaslight Anthem (who was headlining).

The first half of the album is very strong. Songs like “Who’s Your Partner” and “I Was Born” probably are live favorites for their fans. Besides the catchy sing-along choruses, another notable aspect of this album is the drumming. I know a lot of newer bands drum this style, but these guys do it particularly well. The style can be heard on most tracks, ones like “Tasker-Morris Station.” Not sure what that type of drum beat it’s called but it’s something you can almost dance to. Whatever it’s called, it fits with the Menzingers’ style.

Most of this album is really good and something I’ll be listening to for awhile. I can’t think of one bad song on here. The Menzingers have been playing small venues like Café Metropolis in Wilkes-Barre a lot, but I have a feeling they will start to play bigger venues because of this album! Give some of their music a listen at their MySpace page and see if you like them. I think you will!

Bottom Line: Fantastic album from a band you’ll be hearing more about!
Notable Tracks: Who’s Your Partner, I Was Born, Deep Sleep, So It Goes
Overall Rating: