Joining a handful of other artists who have decided to release stripped-down material during the pandemic, alt-emo outfit The Menzingers have just announced From Exile – a reimagined version of 2019’s critically acclaimed album Hello Exile.
Featuring all 12 tracks from last year’s LP, From Exile is set to be released digitally on September 25th and on vinyl November 13th via Epitaph Records.
Commenting on the writing and recording process for From Exile, which was all done via the internet, guitarist Greg Barnett said:
“The live music industry vanished before our eyes and just like that we were out of work like tens of millions of others. As the weeks progressed the upcoming tours got rescheduled, then rescheduled again, then effectively cancelled, there were times when it all felt fatal. There’s no guide book on how to navigate being a working musician during a global pandemic, so we were left to make it up as we went along. 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.
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.”
To check out your first look at the reimagined tracks, be sure to stream “Strawberry Mansion” and “High School Friend” below. Afterward, make sure to pre-order From Exile here.
From Exile Track Listing:
1. America (You’re Freaking Me Out) (From Exile)
2. Anna (From Exile)
3. High School Friend (From Exile)
4. Last To Know (From Exile)
5. Strangers Forever (From Exile)
6. Hello Exile (From Exile)
7. Portland (From Exile)
8. Strain Your Memory (From Exile)
9. I Can’t Stop Drinking (From Exile)
10. Strawberry Mansion (From Exile)
11. London Drugs (From Exile)
12. Farewell Youth (From Exile)
