ALBUM REVIEW: The Menzingers – Everything I Ever Saw (Epitaph Records)
This eighth studio album finds Philadelphia blue collar punks The Menzingers in reflective mood as they chronicle moments of significant change.
Some are personal, some political and others universal as the band celebrate 20 years together with a record which is every bit the equal of those which went before it.
They began writing after touring 2023’s Some Of It Was True (reviewed here), and the last three years have been tumultuous in The Menzingers’ world.
While Greg Barnett got married and welcomed his first child, his co-vocalist/co-guitarist Tom May got divorced and had to navigate previously uncharted emotions, both in and outside of the band.
With such rich source material, the four-piece – completed by bassist Eric Keen and drummer Joe Godino – teamed up with producer Will Yip to do what they do best: “write about what’s going on”, as May puts it.
Yip also worked on 2017’s After The Party and 2019’s Hello Exile (reviewed here) and once again he seems to have brought the best out of the band as they reacted to big changes in their lives.
Unashamedly rooted in punk, The Menzingers’ music is packed with melody, and if they’ve grown less angry with age, they sound all the better for it.
They have perfected the knack of summing up big turning points in life; sounding nostalgic for the past, while looking forward with world-weary optimism, with Barnett’s voice, particularly, packed with emotion. Crucially, their audience has aged with them, experiencing the same highs and lows in life.
Lead track Chance Encounters, one of the heaviest Menzingers songs in a while, opens things up, and it’s an instant classic as Barnett recalls life-changing moments like meeting his wife while queuing to see a show when they were teenagers.
“We were 16 once, we will never be again/How you listened, oh my god/What a spiritual awakening/How I listened, oh my god/To the genius you’re self-training.”
Second single Better Angels takes a personal approach to a broader subject, trying to stay human when the worst parts of humanity seem to be the ones making most noise.
Romanticism is a pure, unabashed love song, as Barnett pours out his heart: “Oh, I want to spend what’s left of the rest of my life/Lost somewhere inside your eyes.”
Things take a political turn for Other People’s Money, a slower song which calls out the “billionaire in space gonna save the human race” and the “lyin’ rags and MAGA flags” which dominate the US landscape..
Gasoline & Matches reaches out to a friend whose self-destructive behaviour is damaging a relationship, while there’s another deeply personal song in The Fool, which suggests unfinished business.
Nobody’s Heroes, the first song released ahead of the album, is one which Barnett says “feels like the story of The Menzingers to me”.
It’s about trying to be there for May during his divorce, which turns into the whole band rallying round and emerging stronger than ever. It’s one of those epic-sounding songs which the Menzos have made a career out of.
May’s Breathe With Me is a cathartic number about rebuilding yourself after a break-up, followed by the sharply contrasting When She Enters My Dreams, another Barnett love song.
We’re nearing the end now, and Parade Day is an affectionate nod to a lost friend: “Here’s till I see you again, at the end my friend/Here’s ’til we’re singing again”.
Closing things out is title track Everything I Ever Saw, the final pre-release single, and despite the quality of all that’s gone before, it’s possibly the album’s standout track.
Again, it’s about those moments which define our lives, and there’s an enormously uplifting feeling as Barnett sings ‘I don’t want to relive, I just want to remember, everything I ever saw.” It’s a chorus that will be hollered back at them for years when they play it live.
Everything I Ever Saw is an album which reveals fresh delights with every listen, and if there’s a better record released in 2026 I can’t wait to hear it. 9/10.
