''On the Impossible Past'' is the third
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by American
punk rock band
The Menzingers
The Menzingers are an American punk rock band from Scranton, Pennsylvania, formed in 2006. The band consists of Greg Barnett (vocals, guitar), Tom May (vocals, guitar), Eric Keen (bass) and Joe Godino (drums). To date, the band has released sev ...
. It was released by
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...
on February 21, 2012. The album was met with widespread acclaim by music critics, with the aggregating website
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
calculating an
average score of 93 out of 100.
Track listing
All songs written, composed and performed by The Menzingers
''On the Possible Past''
Pre-orders of the album included a cassette titled ''On the Possible Past'', which contains demos recorded during the winter and spring of 2011. The collection was released on a one time pressing of 1,000 on green vinyl by Epitaph Records.
# "Good Things" – 2:18
# "Burn" – 2:15
# "Ava" – 2:46
# "Sun Hotel" – 3:51
# "Sculptors and Vandals" – 2:22
# "Casey" – 3:18
# "I Can't Seem to Tell" – 2:33
# "Freedom Bridge" – 2:38
Reception
Critical response
''On the Impossible Past'' garnered critical acclaim upon its release.
At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
, the album received an average score of 93, based on nine reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
writer Gregory Heaney awarded the album four stars out of five and praised its "wryly nostalgic performance, giving a nod to their punk roots as they embrace the rugged earnestness of the Rust Belt with songs about broken hearts, loneliness, and self-doubt."
Thomas Nassiff of ''
AbsolutePunk
''AbsolutePunk'' was a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate (the most recent CEO). The website mainly focused on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it was known to fea ...
'' called the album "sweeping, driven, masterful" as he scored it a near-perfect 9.5/10. He confessed that despite "review
ngalbums every week, I just can't seem to fully explain my adoration" for it, before summarizing ''On the Impossible Past'' "is an album that should have come out decades ago...this is something that has no expiration date."
Steve Lepore of ''
PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
'' called the album "an impeccably crafted
melodic hardcore
Melodic hardcore is a broadly defined subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on melody in its guitar work. It generally incorporates fast rhythms, melodic and often distorted guitar riffs, and vocal styles tending towards shouting and ...
record by a group ready for its close-up."
The album also received favorable reviews from the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
The Menzingers
*Tom May – guitar, vocals
*Joe Godino – drums
*Greg Barnett – guitar, vocals
*Eric Keen - bass guitar