An unpublished micro-review written as part of my Top 10 Albums of 2017 list.
Sometimes a record just finds you at the perfect time in your life. When you first fall in love. After a bitter break-up. Or, in the case of After the Party, as a late 20-something feeling like your wild years are getting further and further behind you. “Where are we gonna go now that our twenties are over?” frontman Greg Barnett asks in “Tellin’ Lies,” one of many lyrics that cut to the heart of the record’s central theme: aging punks navigating life “after the party.” Between the so-specific-they’re-relatable lyrics, the deceptively catchy hooks, and their modern-day Social Distortion sound, there’s not a skippable track on the album.
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