Joyce Manor – Never Hungover Again

Never Hungover Again (Epitaph Records), the new album from California punks Joyce Manor may have taken only two weeks to record, but considering the band entered the studio with a glut of songs they had rehearsed to death, honing them to the point of perfection before even stepping foot in the studio, the quality of the record should surprise no one.

Tragic tales of loss and love mixed with elements of The Smiths combined with the intelligent punk of Husker Du punctuated with elements of Blink 182’s pop punk come together here in a perfect storm creating one of the records of the year.  Accented by pounding drums and guitar hooks that sound simple, but include complex subtleties that only become apparent after multiple listens. The record kicks off with the brilliant Christmas Card, a wonderful song which breaks your heart and ear worms you in equal measure; ‘I’m gonna stay with you until you disappear into the crowd, I don’t know what you’re trying to tell me, you know I think about it still’. The reality is I don’t really know what the song is about, but I still care – and that’s impressive. It also helps that the drums create this hypnotic beat that just carries you along effortlessly while the story unfolds through the lyrics. One of the best introductions to a record I’ve heard in a long time. And I’m secretly just pleased they haven’t kicked off with a fucking instrumental. Victoria and Heart Tattoo veer into more traditional pop punk waters, but certainly not like we’ve heard it done before. The songs are mature, yet still fun and you can’t help but be impressed by the stellar musicianship from Barry Johnson and Chase Knobbe on guitar driven on irresistibly by the rhythm section of Matt Ebert (bass) and Kurt Walcher (drums). With the bar being set so high from the opening track, it’s only natural to think that there will be some drop in quality, and in one sense there is, with Falling in love again, Schley and Catalina Fight Song not reaching the heady heights of their contemporaries, but in isolation they are still very good songs. The Jerk, and In the Army Now all follow a similar punk rock formula, but I mean that in the best possible way. Fast paced, slightly chaotic and a hell of a lot of fun. As the album’s final track, Heated Swimming Pool begins I hear The Smiths straight away, the jangly guitar shouted Johnny Marr and the lyric ‘I wish you died in high school, so you could be somebody’s idol’ sounds like it could have come from the mind of Morrissey. An unexpected, yet impressive end to an album which is full of surprises.

Melancholic, honest and fucking beautiful. With Never Hungover Again, Joyce Manor have given the world a truly classic record and as the last notes finish, shoehorning it into a genre seems less important than just playing it again.