The Menzingers : "Some of It Was True"

They set the bar really high for themselves on "Hello Exile", its country leanings carried a convincing twang. It was one of those albums I really wore out. The strummed intro to the first song is deceptive as the song builds into a punk bar anthem once the drums kick in and the pace picks up. Lyrically it retains the charm of albums past.  They reach a new level of songwriting with tons of conviction poured into the voice of Greg Barnett, which has both the quiver of nervous vibrato and the more punk snarl to punch out the songs accents. The vocal lines for "Nobody Stays" are brighter creating more emphasis on an almost pop punk sound. It took a few listens to grow on me. 

They go in a more interesting direction on "Some of it Was True". It works off a speculative dynamic that allows the vocal room to muse. Another lyrically sharp gem from these guys. There is twang to the rocking drive of "Try". The song slows into a more melodic dynamic that flows impressively. There is a more accessible current to what they are doing on this album, I mean it's being mix by Jon Low who has a much higher hourly rate having worked on Taylor Swift albums. "Come on Heartache" is so polished it feels more like modern-day Weezer, though it's the country tremble to Barnett's voice that sells me on it. His voice has a unique quality that keeps them from blending in to the other punk influence band bleeding into the mainstream. 

"Ultraviolet" almost has a Bruce Springsteen feel. The guitar are mixed similar to some of the 80s radio hits, so the vocals are the rightful focus. "Take it to Heart" has a dirtier guitar sound, and the song punches in a manner that allows Greg to tense his vocals chords up into more cathartic outbursts. "Love at the End" is more upbeat. The drummer shows restraint and creates a pretty cool groove, though it's kind of sonically middle of the road for what they do . The pop punk undercurrent is present again, making this feel slightly contrived and more like filler when set against the honesty this album has shown at it's heights. "Alone in Dublin" has the rawer more organic rock feel I want from them . The complex nuances of emotions in his vocal phrasing makes this one a winner. 

"High Low"  finds the vocals returning to more of a pop punk place. It's a little more hopeful than I prefer for these guys to sound. The guitars sound great, but perhaps too good. The song could use more rough edges. It weird how songs like "I Didn't Miss You" are allowed to retain the edge giving  these guys heart , where A-List production teams threatens to mix them into something closer to the homogenized masses of the radio. "Runnin" feels like the middle ground between the raw hungry band they were, and the band that is being fine tuned to sit next to the National on Spotify playlists. I will give this album a 9.5, and see how it grows on me. Despite the changes in the streamlined commercial production choices, their record company wanted, the band wins the wrestling match more often than not to retain their sense of identity.