Since releasing their eponymous debut in 2011, Torrance, California punks
Joyce Manor have managed a prodigious five LPs, two compilations, and a scattering of EPs and singles, not to mention an endless cycle of touring. Their work ethic goes beyond keeping up appearances; they've also evolved their sound, beginning as a lo-fi pop-punk duo and moving on through phases of full-on emo revival, punk, alt-rock, and power pop.
40 oz. to Fresno, the band's sixth outing, plays like a satisfying amalgam of their own tics and tendencies, self-contained in a concise 17-minute package. Some bands never quite figure out who they are, while others maybe had it unconsciously but lost the thread over the years.
Joyce Manor were apparently set to take a hiatus just before the global pandemic hit. As the lockdown wore on, frontman Barry Johnson continued writing songs simply to stay sharp and engaged during a difficult period. Maybe that's not the most titillating genesis for an album, but the point is that the band didn't necessarily need this and would have been fine taking a break from their career had this batch of songs not materialized. Perhaps ironically, that low-stakes attitude gives
40 oz. to Fresno a kind of old-school punk mojo in the "f*ck it, let's make an album" sense. Over nine energetic tracks, they wield their trademark brevity (this time all but two songs are under the two-minute mark) with casual confidence, doling out riffy melodic gems like "NBTSA" and "You're Not Famous Anymore" and generally sounding reliably like themselves. Bits of soaring emo, snotty pop-punk, and
Weezer-esque power pop surface now and again, but at this point, Johnson and his crew have a pretty good idea of who they are and what they are capable of. If
40 oz. to Fresno isn't the most ambitious entry in
Joyce Manor's discography, it is at least one of their most enjoyable. ~ Timothy Monger