Album Review: Joyce Manor, I Used To Go To This Bar

While this power trio (plus a revolving cast of guest drummers) have never quite reached the heights of some of their peers in the SoCal punk scene, Joyce Manor have consistently been one of its cleverest acts.

Their seventh LP keeps up those high standards, and is heaving with brilliant hooks and black humour. Produced by Bad Religion shredder Brett Gurewitz, the energy is in-your-face, and the melodies will be in your head for months.

Sounding rejuvenated after lockdown forced a reset, the group’s first new music in three years may not help them dethrone scene kings the Offspring and Blink 182, but fans and newcomers alike will still have a good time rocking out to it.

Lean in length but weighty in riffs and ideas, the tongue-in-cheek ‘All My Friends Are So Depressed’ has a whiff of The Smiths and plenty of bite.

The gloomy ‘After All You Put Me Through’ is a crossover hit in the making, while ‘The Opossum’ is a breathless blast of Rancid and AFI-style goodness. Littered with future live favourites, Joyce Manor’s latest is electrifying.