I think punk gets a bad rap.

These days it’s usually associated with screaming vocals and fast, heavy guitars, and that’s all fine and good. But what about the words to those songs? What about those heavy riffs that make the lyrics more powerful and can never be played loud enough? There’s one band in particular that embodies all of these wonderful things about punk in a way (to me) no other band can. This band is called The Menzingers.

They’re an underrated band from Scranton, Philadelphia that has been around since the mid-2000s and cites The Clash as their biggest influence. They’ve made some incredible albums, including On the Impossible Past, After the Party, Rented World, and, most recently, Hello Exile. I could go on for days about this band, but there’s one particular song by them that I wanted to share called “Sculptors and Vandals.”

I can’t find a throwaway lyric in this song. Everything is pure emotional imagery with no filler. See for yourself:

“I was younger / Burning statues to the ground / Now I’m older and tired and no longer see the differences.”

“These days you’ll find me where the nectar’s plenty / Looks are cheap and the talk is heavy / Where liars lie to themselves.”

“We said we wanted to be interesting / Then we fell asleep.”

The guitar work is both beautiful and incendiary. There’s actually a video of them preforming the song live in some small club with people stage diving during the bridge. Wha can I say? Punks are passionate.

Even if punk isn’t your style, I hope something about the lyrics or the feeling of this song resonates with you.

Here it is: