There really isn’t a bad song on Scranton punks The Menzingers‘ latest album Hello Exile. The tracks find a balance between melody and power, singalong revelry and heart-aching nostalgia. While I have found a few of the songs playing on repeat in my head, one that has stuck especially hard while also hitting a strong emotional chord is current single “Strangers Forever”.
The accompanying video combines a humorous performance settings with gorgeous, artistic imagery that strike a strange balance. The video’s female protagonist spends most of the video with her face hidden, as she swims in an eerie pool, with her full visage not unveiled until a final party scene that appears strangely ebullient juxtaposed against the band’s at times goofy, at times passionately serious performance. The song’s lyrics, inspired by Tolstoy’s Anna Karena, tackle the idea of becoming a stranger to someone you so intimately know, a painful and relatable concept for anyone who has found themselves after a broken relationship, seeing their former love in a completely different light.
Watch the video above, and listen to the group’s excellent new album below:
