(El Corazon) If Gaslight Anthem are too squeaky clean for you, but you still want to enjoy the nostalgia-soaked anthemic Jersey sound, the Menzingers are your answer. With a Hot Water Music meets Springsteen vibe, the Menzingers are masters at choruses that make a whole room of aging punk rockers sing along. After the release of 2010’s On the Impossible Past, I saw them open for the Bouncing Souls at Chop Suey and not a single person in the room wasn’t singing “I will fuck this up, I fucking know it!” when they played “The Obituaries.” The best song on their new album Rented World is more positive, though still self-deprecating—opening track “I Don’t Wanna Be an Asshole Anymore” is a hook-filled apology for being a butthead. And can’t we all relate? We’ve all been buttheads at some point in our lives. The rest of the album is solid, but it’s nothing new, which is fine. When you’re this good at writing choruses that make every fist fly into the air, why change? With Lemuria and PUP. MEGAN SELING
See event info »
(Tractor) The 2013 documentary Muscle Shoals, which profiled the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd alongside an array of R&B legends, served as a reminder that Southern rock emerged more as a mix of races and cultures—black and white, church and juke joint—than Confederate flags and the other markers of hate and ignorance that have tarnished its rep over the years. So, Birmingham-bred quartet Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires have their work cut out for them. Fortunately, the new Tim Kerr-produced album Dereconstructed proves they’re the ideal outfit to spur some serious reconsideration. With potent lyrics about social injustice and the weight of history, these Sub Pop signees infuse their rock with punk and protest, a surefire recipe for an incendiary live show. KATHY FENNESSY
See event info »
And here’s all our recommended music events—tonight, tomorrow, this weekend, and beyond!