Joyce Manor return with hard hitting album ‘I Used To Go To This Bar’
After four years away, the South Bay trio return with a refined evolution of their signature sound.
★★★★½
Photo: Press
Joyce Manor, the California pop-punk powerhouses, have returned to grace us with a fantastic seventh album, I Used To Go To This Bar, produced by the prolific Brett Gurewitz (Bad Religion guitarist and Epitaph Records’ CEO). The trio have come back into the fray to show the world the evolution of their sound, which really shines through on this record.
Known for their punchy, raw pop-punk anthems such as Constant Headache, Falling In Love Again and Catalina Fight Song, Joyce Manor have proved time and time again that they can go to bat with the rest of the heavyweights in the scene. Since 2011, when Constant Headache was released on their debut self-titled album, Joyce Manor have experimented and evolved their sound, with no two albums following the same formula.
The latest album shows a return to the prior format, with the punchy opening track I Know Where Mark Chen Lives sung by mainstay vocalist/guitarist Barry Johnson, a sign that they haven’t lost a step in their long tenure within the genre. The relatively short one-minute, 50-second song is a perfect way to open the album, reminding fans, new and old, that the emotional impact of their lyrics hasn’t gone away in the slightest.
The lyrics on the opening song: “When you can’t afford anything anymore / Tell me, how you gonna, how you gonna swim to shore?” call back to lyrics from Stir Crazy (a track from their first demo), demonstrating that they haven’t forgotten where they have started.
This album expands on the diversity that the band have curated, showing off the technical proficiency of guitarist Chase Knobbe and backing vocalist/bassist Matt Ebert. Following the hard hitting opening track, the next few tracks show the range of the trio. From melancholic riffs that evoke a sense of longing in the listeners, to high tempo experimental and emotional outbursts, there’s nothing the band cannot do.
My personal favourite song from the album has to be the title track I Used To Go To This Bar; a song dedicated to a loved one who has passed, touching on the emotions experienced when you revisit places where you made memories together. Specifically the verse: “And when I think about your face, there’s always something hard to place / The way the light would hit your features when we were hanging by the bleachers / Your funeral I didn’t make but that ain’t what keeps me awake / It’s not the money I still owe you or photographs I’ll never show you”.
If you haven’t listened to Joyce Manor before, this album is a great jumping on point for those with a love of pop-punk, emo and indie-rock. The band makes you feel like you’re experiencing them for the first time with each release they put out.
If you’re a North American reader, Joyce Manor will be doing an extensive tour across the country starting this March, and it’s a show you won’t want to miss. For those in the UK, the new album will have to do for now.
I Used To Go To This Bar is out now via Epitaph Records.
