Anyone familiar with the latter work of The Menzingers will already be well aware of guitarist Gregor Barnett’s penchant for soulful tales of Americana. Ever since the band moved away from their scratchy, screamy punk beginnings and delved into reflective and soul-searching songwriting, Barnett’s love affair with the landscape of the US of A has come strongly into focus.
The band’s 2019 record ‘Hello Exile’, featured country-esque tracks of lost love, long journeys and the very American settings of diners, motels and waitresses with stick and poke tattoos. As the Menzingers took a break from touring during the pandemic, Barnett could explore these thoughts a little more and what has emerged is the Philadelphia native’s debut solo record.
‘Don’t Go Throwing Roses In My Grave’ is Barnett at his most contemplative and, frankly, brilliant. Naturally, it leans on the sound built throughout his career in the Menzingers but these tracks feel a whole lot more personal. There are poignant motifs on reconciling with grief, confronting death, chasing lost dreams, and ultimately celebrating what you have most in life.
Tonally, Barnett slips into a sound that has the gritty, soulful nature of Bruce Springsteen with just the right amount of country to sit alongside greats such as Hank Williams. His storytelling is unparalleled, demonstrated in the crooning ‘The First Dead Body I Ever Saw’ where he tells a tale of when an adolescent Barnett discovers the body of a shop owner he worked for.
It’s a beautiful, albeit morbid, telling of confronting death for the very first time and how we are all totally unprepared for what comes after this life, as Barnett cries “I saw how it ends, life’s fatal flaw”. Death and grief pierces through his debut record, continuing in ‘Talking To Your Tombstones’, a highlight of the record.
This is Barnett in full country mode, which carries upbeat echoes of Tiger Army and early Brian Fallon, as it addresses coping with grief. He speaks of drinking a few beers and chatting to the tombstone of his departed loved one, and while it points to a difficult subject it is delivered in a positive manner. The lyrics contain references of dreaming of a better life and how, in grief, we are pushed to do the things we’ve always wanted, no matter how trivial, to enjoy this time we have on earth.
It’s built upon in the title track which Barnett describes as being an ode to celebrating the life with the guitar twangs and harmonica solos it gives it a real joyous feeling. However, it’s not all death and grief, Barnett has a real knack of painting vivid nostalgic pictures.
Both ‘Driving Through The Night’ and ‘Hurry Me Down To Hades’ have an air of Gaslight Anthem to them with driving choruses and sweet little hooks.
‘At The Greyhound Station, Desperate’ is a heartbreaking ode to chasing lost love while ‘Guest In Your House’ is the closest thing you can get to a modern day ballad. The latter feels very, very Springsteen as Barnett describes childhood memories of days spent round with the family “watching black and white movies with John Wayne” and “passing the time with paint-by-number sets”.
It’s a beautiful closing track, wistful and reflective as Barnett’s voice brings a lump in the back of your throat and wells up your tear ducts. “We’ll never quit dreaming big, no matter how foolish” is a wonderful line which encapsulates this debut record. It’s the kind of album that will make you want to ring your mum to ask how she’s getting on, it makes you think hard on how to treasure the things you have.
TOM WALSH