We're beginning to see the artistic fruits of this year's stay at home orders. In something-new-something-old record called From Exile, The Menzingers have reimaged their 2019 record Hello Exile, with 12 stripped down, acoustic takes. The new record will be available through digital platforms on Sept. 25 and on vinyl on Nov. 13 courtesy of Epitaph.
The band, who cut their Australian tour short when COVID-19 required various stay-at-home orders across the planet, eventually decided to record the re-worked songs from their own homes.
"We wanted to document and create in the moment, and though we couldn’t be in the same room together due to social distancing lockdowns, we got creative," Guitarist/vocalist Greg Barnett explains.
Listen to the new "High School Friend" below.
“We would track the songs from our own home studios, share the files via dropbox, and pray it all made sense when pieced back together. Initially, we planned for the album to be similar to our acoustic demo collection ‘On The Possible Past,’ but we quickly found out that this batch of songs benefited from more detailed arrangements,...We rewrote, and changed keys and melodies. We blended analog and digital instruments in ways we never had before. We dug through old lyric notebooks and added additional verses. We got our dear friend Kayleigh Goldsworthy to play violin on two songs. No idea was off limits. Hell, I even convinced the band to let me play harmonica on a song (no small feat!). The recording process ran from mid-March till June, and upon completion we sent it over to our dear friend and close collaborator Will Yip to mix and master.”
From Exile Track Listing:
America (You're Freaking Me Out) (From Exile)
Anna (From Exile)
High School Friend (From Exile)
Last To Know (From Exile)
Strangers Forever (From Exile)
Hello Exile (From Exile)
Portland (From Exile)
Strain Your Memory (From Exile)
I Can't Stop Drinking (From Exile)
Strawberry Mansion (From Exile)
London Drugs (From Exile)
Farewell Youth (From Exile)
