ALBUM REVIEW: 40 Oz. To Fresno – Joyce Manor

When a band is onto their sixth studio album, there is often a worry that they can rely on gimmicks. Whether this is losing their identity when it comes to image, or changing their sound up entirely to no avail. Thankfully for fans of JOYCE MANOR, the band do not resort to gimmicks on their sixth album, 40 oz. To Fresno, which releases this Friday via Epitaph Records.

The first of the nine tracks on 40 oz. To Fresno is actually a cover song – Souvenir, originally by ORCHESTRAL MANOUVRES IN THE DARK. It’s daring to have your first song on an album be a cover given how hit or miss these can be, but thankfully this one provides the perfect starting point. JOYCE MANOR have given a 1980s synth-pop song a pop-punk makeover. The energy of the band bleeds through the speakers. They do a fantastic job of respecting the original song, whilst also creating something that they can be proud of on their own.

NBTSA follows, and the most eye-catching thing about it is the runtime; it’s only one minute and 13 seconds long. The lyrics are mostly repetitive, but the band do not waste any time in making sure that the song is perfect. It fits into the overall sound of the album, despite the short runtime.

Unfortunately, from here the album flounders a little bit. Reason To Believe, an upbeat pop-punk song, is also just over a minute long. In fact, seven out of the nine songs land between the one to two-minute mark. Whilst they all manage to fit into that short timeframe, thanks to some excellent production work from Rob Schnapf, you can’t help but imagine that if the songs were a little longer, then they would be more impactful. You’re Not Famous Anymore sounds hollow and incomplete, even though it leads into the upbeat Don’t Try.

The short runtimes are a shame because the band have real talent, as shown on a track like Gotta Let It Go, which swaps out pop-punk for an almost post-punk sound. If they had a little more time, then it would have a lot more potential. Strangely enough, the overall pacing of the album is not affected in any way; the songs flow together really well, and therefore still result in a well-constructed and listenable body of work.

Unfortunately, this does nothing to save the album as a whole. 40 oz. To Fresno is a slightly disappointing record. There is talent in the songs, and the band are confident in their sound; however, due to the shortened runtime of the songs, some of this talent feels wasted. The production is fantastic, and the album is cohesive, but if the songs had been longer then it would have been better. If anything, the shortness seems to appeal to the more limited attention spans of the so-called streaming generation. This record will probably go down well with them; however, the rest of us looking for something a bit more substantial might be left a little disappointed.

Rating: 6/10

40 oz. To Fresno is set for release on June 10th via Epitaph Records.

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