Album Review: Million Dollars To Kill Me by Joyce Manor

If there was any doubt over whether Californian punks Joyce Manor would continue in the poppy direction they were going in after 2016's Cody, there is surely none now on their latest effort Million Dollars to Kill Me. Their fifth album sees the band at their most straight-up pop/rock, but also at their most mature, aging their sound like a fine wine in comparison to their scrappy, beer-and-pizza soaked opening triad of records. Some fans may lament that loss of innocence that occurred on Cody, but in all honesty, it would be stranger if the band didn't move on from that initial youthful exuberance, intoxicating though it undoubtedly was.

Full Review >>

Even in the surprisingly experimental context of recent emo-leaning indie rock, Joyce Manor have always depended upon an impressive versatility. An accelerated, bashing cover of the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" served as the theoretical centerpiece of 2012's Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired, while the band's 2014 breakthrough, Never Hungover Again, offered a masterclass in emo's many moods--reflective, angry, sentimental, self-incriminating, passionate. Before they even released 2016's Cody, Joyce Manor had cemented themselves as emo's answer to Guided by Voices, packing albums with brief melodic gems indebted to the band's ancestry but retaining their own peculiar, scruffy charm.

Full Review >>

Far past their initial maturation, Joyce Manor continue to get treated as if they're in a perpetual teenage state. For a stretch of five albums, the Torrance, California four-piece have long taken ownership of their airtight guitar pop, more in pursuit of honing a musical approach that suits them rather than searching for some fictitious denomination of aging gracefully. It's something of a curse that tends to follow bands who sound eternally youthful, locked into what resonates with them.

Full Review >>

West Coast emo punks Joyce Manor return with album number five, a wide-ranging affair that further expands on the more streamlined maturation of its 2016 predecessor, Cody. Like that album, Million Dollars to Kill Me spends less time revisiting youthful passions and instead continues to explore the more grown-up side of emo and pop-punk. While that may seem like a drag to fans of their more explosive and arguably weirder early days, good bands know that they need to evolve, and in Joyce Manor's case they've opted to sharpen their chops and aim for a more muscular pop sound.

Full Review >>

Joyce Manor sit at a bizarre musical nexus. Fans of hardcore, pop punk, indie rock and even power-pop can all find something to love in their divergent catalogue. And while that enables the Torrance, CA quartet to share bills with pretty much any band with a guitar, they still manage to leave some sub-group of fans feeling abandoned with each release.   That's a hefty expectation live up to, especially for a group who most people outside of music-nerd circles would simply describe as "upbeat guitar rock." Thankfully, Johnson and his ….

Full Review >>

Joyce Manor's music used to be defined at large by its length (or lack of). Their insatiable debut clocked in at 18 minutes. Its follow-up lasted only 13. It was last album 'Cody' that saw them reaching for more expansive territories, with mixed results. New record 'Million Dollars To Kill Me ….

Full Review >>

Having seen Joyce Manor live, it's one of those shows you want to go on and on because there are so many punchy punk jams in their arsenal. Across every record, there are at least six or seven songs made to mosh to and cut loose. I'll admit, while I enjoyed Cody, it's the first couple albums that really hit home for me, especially Never Hungover Again.

Full Review >>