Beginning with the band's self-titled debut in 2011, Joyce Manor have woven desperate, melancholic pop-punk anthems, stitching in stale booze, lost loves and fear of what the future may bring. They deliver a paradoxical brand of loneliness, the kind a room full of people can shout along to. With Never Hungover Again, Joyce Manor seem to have sobered up a bit, but their despondent punk energy is still very much alive.
Joyce Manor have softened with their new record – they haven't let go of their youthful melancholy, but they have shed the harshness that can be heard in their previous albums. Their self-titled album's punchy and restless highlight "Leather Jacket" has given way to the steady, constant rhythm of "Catalina Fight Song." 2012's Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired featured a delightful, crashing cover of "Video Killed the Radio Star"; Never Hungover Again offers up more brutally honest material, like the solitude-wrought lyrics of "In the Army Now." "Victoria" features a wailing chorus cut up by sugary riffs, deceptively sweet considering the track's heartbroken content. But that's the name of Joyce Manor's game — sadness beyond their years enrobed in loud, teenage pop-punk energy.
Never Hungover Again is fully-grown and moves at a steady pace, while remaining characteristic to Joyce Manor's roots. The only thing that leaves the listener wanting is the fact that it's over so quickly.
(Epitaph)Joyce Manor have softened with their new record – they haven't let go of their youthful melancholy, but they have shed the harshness that can be heard in their previous albums. Their self-titled album's punchy and restless highlight "Leather Jacket" has given way to the steady, constant rhythm of "Catalina Fight Song." 2012's Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired featured a delightful, crashing cover of "Video Killed the Radio Star"; Never Hungover Again offers up more brutally honest material, like the solitude-wrought lyrics of "In the Army Now." "Victoria" features a wailing chorus cut up by sugary riffs, deceptively sweet considering the track's heartbroken content. But that's the name of Joyce Manor's game — sadness beyond their years enrobed in loud, teenage pop-punk energy.
Never Hungover Again is fully-grown and moves at a steady pace, while remaining characteristic to Joyce Manor's roots. The only thing that leaves the listener wanting is the fact that it's over so quickly.
