Brooklyn-based punk trio Thick have released a new song ‘Mansplain’, which features on the band’s debut album, 5 Years Behind, out next week on Epitaph. The track is a blistering, brilliantly sarcastic takedown, bookended by a sound collage of massively infuriating comments from men (e.g., “Girl bands are really in right now,” “Here, let me help you carry your amp,” “Are those your boyfriend’s drums?”). “Those are all things that men have actually said to us or our friends at shows,” drummer and vocalist Shari Page points out.

Even in their most exasperated moments, Thick sustain a ferocious energy and untamed joy, ultimately turning every song into a wildly cathartic anthem. “A lot of these songs came from feeling stifled in silence, but then the song itself is an answer to that,” says Kate Black (vocals, bass, guitar). “It’s us saying, ‘I have my opinion, and I’m going to share it no matter what.’ Instead of keeping things all bottled up, it feels so much better to face everything head on, and just be really loud about it with your two best friends.”   

5 Years Behind came to life at Studio G Brooklyn with producer/engineer Joel Hamilton (Iggy Pop, Jolie Holland). In a departure from their previous work, the band took a more spontaneous approach to the album-making process, sometimes completely reworking songs at the eleventh hour in order to channel the most immediate emotion into each track. “It was really important to us that the songs feel emotionally connected to our reality, so that it feels as natural as possible to play them,” notes Black.

Philadelphia-based punk band, The Menzingers, share the music video for the song 'Strangers Forever,' a track off the band’s forthcoming record, Hello Exile, out October 4 via Epitaph. The track is a searing tribute to parting ways, backing their spiky guitars with brilliantly barbed lyrics.

“Lyrically, the song is inspired by Leo Tolstoy's classic novel, Anna Karenina. In it, the character Darya Alexandrovna learns of her husband’s infidelity and declares: ‘Even if we remain in the same house, we are strangers — strangers forever!’” explains vocalist Greg Barnett. “The idea of becoming a stranger to someone you so intimately know stuck with me and became the overarching narrative to this song.”

Since forming as teenagers in 2006, The Menzingers have shown their strength as rough-and-tumble storytellers, turning out songs equally rooted in frenetic energy and lifelike detail. The forthcoming sixth studio album, Hello Exile sees The Menzingers take their lyrical narrative to a whole new level and share their reflections on moments from the past and present: high-school hellraising, troubled relationships, aging and alcohol and political ennui. With the band achieving that soul-baring intimacy all throughout the album, Hello Exile emerges as The Menzingers’ most emotionally daring work to date.

The Menzingers will hit the road early 2020 in Europe and the UK. Tickets are on sale now.

UK & EUROPEAN HEADLINE TOUR:

06/02    Southampton, UK Engine Rooms

07/02    Bristol, UK SWX

08/02    Manchester, UK Albert Hall

10/02    Dublin, Ireland Whelan’s

11/02    Glasgow, UK QMU

12/02    Newcastle, UK The Riverside

14/02    Birmingham, UK The Asylum

15/02    London, UK O2 Forum Kentish town