The Menzingers Channel Meat Loaf (Sorta) ‘After the Party’

Philly pop-punkers the Menzingers are gearing up to release After the Party early next month via Epitaph. So far, we've heard two songs from the Rented World follow-up, out February 3: "Lookers" and the equally roiling "Bad Catholics." Today, they've unleashed the title track, which guitarist / vocalist Greg Barnett described to Stereogum as "a bit of an ode to Meat Loaf’s verse in 'I Would Do Anything for Love,'" with a emphasis on lyrical imagery inspired by Lolita author Vladimir Nabokov — interesting sources of inspiration to say the least, considering how the quartet's anthems place a great emphasis on suburban realism and working-class angst, rather than hair metal grandstanding or purple prose.

Accordingly for a title track, "After the Party" underscores the bildungsroman feel of the record as a whole, presenting the existential crises associated with twentysomething-dom (namely, its impending end, and the onset of boring-ass adulthood) as causes for celebration, rather than alarm — after all, we've still got each other. To borrow Barnett's phrasing on the chorus: "After the party, it's and me and you." See? Growing up isn't so bad after all. Listen below, and scroll down for Barnett's comments about the track (via Stereogum).

The Menzingers' After the Party is out February 3 via Epitaph. Pre-order it here.

Barnett on "After the Party":

The title track to the record, 'After the Party,' is the central emotional epiphany of the album, written in images. They’re mundane moments etched behind eyelids that culminate into meaningful realizations, and of course give way to the beautiful trifecta of Sex! Drugs! Rock 'n' Roll! It’s a bit of an ode to Meat Loaf’s verse in 'I Would Do Anything for Love,' but the God of drums? You lost me.

Vladimir Nabokov once said in an interview: 'I don’t think in language. I think in images.' I wanted to play off that idea, and use imagery as unexciting as the sludge in the bottom of a coffee cup to tell a bigger story. In doing so, it captured the excitement of falling in love that language often misses. Turns out my 20s can be summed up quite similarly.