Joyce Manor, punk rock extraordinaires, released their latest album “Never Hungover Again”. This ten track masterpiece is definitely the release I’ve been looking forward to the most this summer, and I was definitely not disappointed.
Some may refer to them more as “pop punk”, but this album just proves that’s wrong. The boys are 09able to take song structures that are stereotypical of pop punk and post-hardcore and completely turn them on their heads.
The album as a whole is short and sweet, and upon first listen, I thought definitely too short. However, upon further listening, I realized that if it had been any longer, it would’ve been repetitive and simply not as good. I feel like I could never get tired of having it on repeat, which is a quality Joyce Manor’s had since the very beginning.
Opening up with the intense “Christmas Card”, Barry’s voice has a level of urgency that makes the song feel really heavy, and half way through the change in guitar and tone is beautiful. They’ve really learned a lot since their last release, and not every song feels monotonous.
“Falling in Love Again” made me fall in love again with JM. The bass is fantastic, and listening to this tune it makes me realize that Joyce Manor has completely changed up their writing style, and have honed their skills. This is unlike anything else they’ve ever released, and it’s daaaaaaamn good.
“Heart Tattoo” feels like classic JM, like it could’ve been on their first release. It’s two minutes of pure energy and in my head I get flashbacks to when I saw them last and everyone was going mad, crowd surfing and joshing and rushing the stage. I knew they’d write at least a few punkier numbers, but this one takes the cake.
Joyce Manor’s released the best album they ever have. It’s versatile, but not all over the place. It has a few slower songs, but it’s no emo boy crap. It’s the perfect balance, the perfect summer album, and I’m ridiculously impressed.
