Pop-punk strongholds Joyce Manor started the year off right with the release of their seventh studio album, “I Used To Go To This Bar.” Originally from Torrence, California, the three-piece has made music together since 2008, and every release since then has been tightly wound with punchy melodies and relatable lyrics.
The new album follows Joyce Manor’s nearly two-decade long discography of short, energy-filled songs. Clocking in at only 19 minutes — with the longest song reaching just under three minutes — “I Used To Go To This Bar” fits neatly into the band’s repertoire but leans farther into the pop side of pop punk than their previous work.
Opening with the brazen “I Know Where Mark Chen Lives,” the album doesn’t stray from the band’s breakneck aggression at first. The simple but driving chorus is perfect for their mosh pit filled live shows. With lyrics about reflecting times long past, the song sets the tone for an album that addresses topics far more mature than Joyce Manor’s previous work, with some of the youthful angst still mixed in.
The album slows down a little with “Falling Into It,” which starts with a bright, poppy melody with softer vocals and twinkly background synths. The energy builds up, however, to fuzzy guitars and an aggressively delivered chorus loyal to Joyce Manor’s roots.
The third track, “All My Friends Are So Depressed,” fits neatly into an indie rock mold, keeping a slower tempo. “Well, Whatever It Was,” first released as a single in October, maintains this relaxed, indie quality, but lead singer Barry Johnson’s brash vocals serve as a loyal glance back at their previous work. Built on witty, quotable lines, both songs keep a little teenage grit while bringing a more wizened outlook to life’s drab realities on top of bouncy riffs.
Title track “I Used To Go To This Bar” provides a deceptively danceable tempo for a song about a death and grief, a theme that doesn’t come out until a few listens in, when you really pay attention to Johnson’s lyrics.
A much slower melody and melancholy lyrics on “After All You Put Me Through” provide a moment to breathe on an otherwise nonstop album. The band dabbles in folk-punk tendencies in the next two tracks, “The Opossum” and “Well, Don’t It Seem Like You’ve Been Here Before.” These songs pick up the pace for Johnson to sing about looking back on life, just to find you’re unhappy with where you’ve ended up. His quick lyric delivery soars over twangy guitars and even a harmonica solo.
Closing song “Grey Guitar” settles as close to emo as Joyce Manor gets on this album. Warbly guitars lead into lyrics pondering both the death of a friend and the artist’s own self-worth outside of playing music. The self deprecating theme recalls their biggest hits like “Constant Headache,” but places the blame internally, a much more mature viewpoint than the adolescent finger-pointing in their early work, and the pop-punk canon in general.
The strength of Joyce Manor’s music often lies in the shortness of the songs, giving just enough of a catchy melody to want to replay it repeatedly, which their short playtime makes so easy to do. “I Used To Go To This Bar” sees the band mature in both subject matter and sound. While perhaps less angry than the songs that made them famous, it is more than appropriate for a band of aging punks.