Jessica Pellegrino – General Assignment Reporter
The American punk rock band Joyce Manor released their fourth studio album through Epitaph Records. The album called “Never Hungover Again” really pushes the limits of the phrase “full-length album”. In its entirely, the album is just shy of twenty minutes long.
Joyce Manor employs their usual style in “Never Hungover Again.” This involves quippy, two minute long songs. The songs grab the listener’s attention in just enough time to end right when they get good.
Joyce Manor’s first album, appropriately titled “Of All Thing I Will Soon Grow Tired,” was successful but it did nothing to turn me into a Joyce Manor fan. Firstly, it is even shorter than “Never Hungover Again”.
At thirteen minutes start to finish, I can’t bring myself to consider it an album. The album is confusing, it does not know what genre it wants to be. At this time in their career I very safely considered myself to not be a fan of Joyce Manor. This year, Joyce Manor released “Never Hungover Again” and that all changed for me.
“Never Hungover Again” is the most interesting and provocative album to come out of Joyce Manor. This album is earnest and every single track has a hook. It is hard to squeeze that much emotion and style into ninety seconds. The album is the band’s longest effort yet and it shows in the careful selection of tracks.
According to the lead singer, Barry Johnson’s Twitter, not all of the songs they wrote for the album made it on to “Never Hungover Again”. The band was truly careful and meticulous with this one. There is just something that is all around better about this album. The vocals are better, the songs are delivered more confidently, and the lyrics are much deeper than past Joyce Manor efforts.
Joyce Manor cannot be discussed without having a discussion about style. Joyce Manor’s is definitely unconventional. For some people, ninety second songs can be too short and annoying to listen to. This was my initial problem with Joyce Manor. By the time you started to enjoy a song, it was over.
“Never Hungover Again” shines new light onto the band’s signature style. The songs are still really short. Yet they are so well written that they do not leave the listener wanting more. This album, the songs seem perfectly timed and constructed.
My train music this beautiful Friday morning is Joyce Manor. They are quickly becoming one of my favourite bands http://t.co/5s383rHzxD
— Jack of Dunbar (@PeopleOfUK) October 10, 2014
Symbolism has always been a driving force behind Joyce Manor’s songs. “Never Hungover Again” is no exception to this rule.
“Heart Tattoo” is about a time when the lead singer Barry wanted a trivial little tattoo and no one could tell him different. The song itself is fast paced and so easy to jam to. The track sounds beautiful acoustic or electric and the sound is comparable to a Weezer number. Lyrically, this track is all about the hurt.
The singer believes that the only way his love for this girl will be legitimate is if he “hurts really bad”. That is simply a single page out of Johnson’s self-deprivation handbook. This theme of hurting continues throughout the album, in songs like “Catalina Fight Song” and “In the Army Now”.
The best track on the album is “Catalina Fight Song”. It is sixty-four seconds of pure California punk rock. The song puts you in a time machine back to the 1990s. Upbeat and slightly thrashy, the song makes you want to get up out of your chair.
“Never Hungover Again” was made to be played live. The up-tempo tracks and fast paced hooks set this album up for greatness. 4/5
Photo Credit: Karen Seifert
