Album Review: Never Hungover Again By Joyce Manor

New York – Never Hungover Again is a punk rock gem and, as most great albums are, perhaps too short for how good it is. Each song stays under the usual three minute mark, but despite its length, the record doesn’t skimp on narrative or depth. The album’s opening track, “Christmas Card”, is a charming song whose brevity gives it a straightforwardness somewhat characteristic of Joyce Manor. The band’s previous release, Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired, and their debut, Joyce Manor, contain the same sort of lo-fi short songs. It makes sense for a punk band, and it’s a welcome characteristic of Never Hungover Again.

Joyce Manor also stuck to their signature lyrical style on the new record. Like their last two albums, the songs are telling and rich in detail. The album closer, “Heated Swimming Pool”, has more of a story than the other tracks. With lines like “never better like the letters on your hand as you lay next to me by the heated swimming pool,” the song builds an image in the listener’s head. The song is also brimming with a bright melody, fit for a day spent poolside; a departure from straightforward punk into a less genre specific sound. The liveliness and melody of the track is briefly offset by the dark, but strangely sweet line, “I wish you would’ve died in high school / so you could be somebody’s idol.” Lyrically the album has these clever, often darker moments when songs depart from the often simple rhyme scheme. The songs typically fall into traditional ABCB patterns, except in moments like in “Christmas Card” like: “You treat it like a game of skill / but it’s more like a work of art.” This quality makes Never Hungover Again more complex that its sound suggests.

As a punk release, the album carries a sort of reputation for being stripped down sonically, but songs like “Schley” prove the band’s uncluttered sound can be the best part of their record. A somewhat nonsensical, but absolutely addictive track, “Schley” comes across as both concise and clever with smart, almost cheeky lines, like “old friends who’d never ask ‘how can you be happy when you wear all black?” It opens with slow paced bass, before gradually layering in drums and the album’s catchiest guitar hook. “Schley” ends quickly, but definitely merits a re-play. The following track, “Heart Tattoo,” carries some of the same charm- exemplifying the simple fun of the album and perhaps of punk too. It’s a faster song when compared to the rest of Never Hungover Again, complete with a persistent bass line and muddled vocals.

Barry Johnson, the group’s lead vocalist and one of their guitarists, has a voice which helps give Joyce Manor such a successful punk sound. In “Christmas Card,” he sings with a raspier harshness, which gives lines like “looking at your face in the dark / you don’t even look that smart / you’d never make it past that part” more of a punch and plenty of validity on the punk front. For “Catalina Fight Song,” Johnson applies the same technique, his voice sounding almost strained while matching with the tone of the song. He shows a versatility in tracks like “End of the Summer,” as he and Matt Ebert, the band’s backup vocalist and bassist, soften to sing together.

They team up again for “Falling in Love Again,” with the same result. The soft synths and slow guitar make the track the album’s less-than-typical love song. Its sweetness and sincerity comes from its lyrics- lines like “I think you’re funny / I like your friends / I like the way they treat you” leave the listener cooing. It’s a relatable little song, aptly titled, that most folks can connect to; making it the perfect track to convert non-Joyce Manor fans.

If “Falling in Love Again” is the game changer, “Victoria” is the song to unabashedly sing-along to once everyone is on the same page. With fast paced guitars and the repeated shouts of “Victoria!” it’s easy to learn and easy to love. Lyrically it’s a simple song, as is most of the album, but that doesn’t detract from its depth. In what amounts to a few sentences, the lyrics concisely convey all they need to, as image and narrative are communicated despite the short track length. The same could be said about much of Never Hungover Again.

“In the Army Now” is perhaps the album’s most musically complex song. At a whopping two minutes, twenty-one seconds, the song is one of the longest on Never Hungover Again. An instrumental break halfway through the song provides each instrument with a moment to shine. Here Joyce Manor is less by-the-book punk; like “Heated Swimming Pool,” the track shows a growth in sound. It showcases the album’s overall tone, which is open-minded punk.

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Zoe Marquedant

Zoe Marquedant is a Marylander now living in Brooklyn. She recently graduated from Sarah Lawrence College where she majored in Journalism and English literature. She is a freelance journalist, who primarily writes on music and culture. Her work can be seen in Boston Magazine, Highlight Magazine as well as on rsvlts.com, mxdwn.com and Baeblemusic.com. When not writing, Zoe is probably working her way through a new series on Netflix, researching new pie recipes and collecting dumb jokes (e.g. Two fish are in a tank. One turns to the other and says, "You man the guns. I’ll drive.") Follow her vain attempts at mastering social media at @zoenoumlaut