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Never Hungover Again

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Never Hungover Again
Studio album by
Joyce Manor
ReleasedJuly 22, 2014
Genre
Length19:00
LabelEpitaph
ProducerJoe Reinhart[1]
Joyce Manor chronology
Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired
(2012) 		Never Hungover Again
(2014) 		Cody
(2016)
Singles from Never Hungover Again
  1. "Catalina Fight Song"
    Released: May 15, 2014
  2. "Schley"
    Released: June 17, 2014

Never Hungover Again is the third studio album by American rock band Joyce Manor, released on July 22, 2014 through Epitaph Records. Never Hungover Again explores topics like love and summertime. It contains both bracingly fast and mid-tempo punk songs, recorded live across two weeks at a Hollywood studio with producer Joe Reinhart. The album's run time clocks in at only nineteen minutes long. The band aimed for brevity, and most of the songs on the album are under two minutes.

Never Hungover Again became the band's first album to reach the Billboard 200, where it peaked at 106. Music critics embraced the album, cementing the band's place as one of the top pop-punk bands of the 2010s; they were credited with spearheading a revival of emo music alongside acts like Title Fight and Tigers Jaw.[2] The band played shows in support of the album with Brand New,[3] as well as their first-ever[4] headlining slots alongside Toys That Kill, Mitski,[5] and Modern Baseball.[6]

Background

[edit]

After diving deeper into their esoteric influences on the eccentric sophomore release Of All Things I Will Soon Grow Tired (2012), Joyce Manor opted to take a back-to-basics approach with Never Hungover Again. Frontman Barry Johnson admitted that he developed a complex about being in a pop-punk band and had intentionally tried to move beyond those trappings on Of All Things.[7]

Recording and production

[edit]
Joyce Manor performing in 2012.

The band first made an attempt at recording the album in February 2013 in Philadelphia with Joe Reinhart of Algernon Cadwallader. The quartet tracked eight songs but were not pleased with the results.[8] Many of the songs had been written over a period of years,[9] but the band resumed writing, aiming for a higher quality output on the album after touring songs for years from earlier efforts they felt tired of.[10] Specifically, the band felt that they needed stronger hooks for the songs.[11]

Never Hungover Again marked a moment where the interplay between frontman Barry Johnson and guitarist Chase Knobbe began to take shape. In an interview, Johnson explained that Knobbe was dating a person in Santa Cruz who was in college; "While she was in school all day, he would just smoke weed and play guitar. And he got way better at guitar by doing that," he said.[12] Throughout 2013, the band spent time re-working songs ("End of the Summer", "Heated Swimming Pool"), and developing new ones ("Falling in Love Again", "The Jerk"). The band found the new material refreshing: "Like once we wrote [those two], it felt more rich and like something different that we hadn’t done yet," Johnson said.[13] "It was during this batch of songwriting that I noticed a pretty big jump in the quality of the songs we were writing and Chase and I really started spending a lot of time on the vocals and guitar parts and how they interact with each other," he remembered.[8]

They asked Reinhart to revisit the project with them later in the year, and the final album was recorded over two weeks in November 2013[10] at the Lair in Hollywood, an all-analog facility.[9] The band chose the Lair due to its Neve 80s series mixing console and Studer 2” tape machine.[14] The studio was where Rivers Cuomo of Weezer recorded his demos, and Walcher played the album on Cuomo's drum kit. It was the first time the band had used a click track to record to, which was difficult for much of the band besides Ebert; "Once we got the hang of it we loved how it sounded and felt," Johnson said.[14] Much of the album was recorded live[10] and characterized by drunkenness: "For a lot of it, we were pretty wasted. Four of the takes we got in a row, while we were very drunk and high."[15] The band wanted to add more harmonies to songs but ran out of time; "We barely had enough time to finish basic tracking," Johnson confessed.[16] Reinhart recalled with fondness the atmosphere: "The band crashed on couches and ate Trader Joe's dumpster food while we worked. It was an exciting time to be DIY kids."[11] "Christmas Card" was tracked slightly faster than the band intended so the band slowed down the take by adjusting the tape speed. Johnson recalled: "I knew the Beatles messed with tape speed on Revolver and Rubber Soul and I wanted to be like the Beatles."[14] The band shelved one track from the album, "Secret Sisters", but it resurfaced on 2022's 40 oz. to Fresno, where the band felt it fit better.[17]

Composition

[edit]

The often jangly guitar work on Hungover was frequently likened to the Smiths' Johnny Marr;[18][19] the band also noted Guided by Voices as an influence. Entertainment Weekly's Miles Raymer observed that "Never Hungover Again combines the earnestly awkward adolescent squawk of emo foundation-layers Cap'n Jazz with Cali pop-punk’s buzzsaw hooks."[20] "Heart Tattoo" was the band's attempt at writing a Blink-182 song; Matt Ebert's backing vocals on the song's last chorus are a tribute to Tom DeLonge.[11]

Johnston took an oblique approach to his lyricism, allowing songs to develop line-by-line. He would write a lyric, and build upon them gradually with no set theme in mind.[4] In between writing, the band stayed on the road, touring with Algernon Cadwallader, which Johnson felt made an impact on their songwriting.[8]

Release and artwork

[edit]

After recording the album,[15] the band signed to fabled punk imprint Epitaph Records,[21][4] at the behest of label founder Brett Gurewitz. Gurewitz was drawn to Johnson's economic style of lyrics.[11] The album was originally titled In the Army Now. Gurewitz was wary of the title and successfully lobbied the band to alter its original track sequencing, with the band later seeing his viewpoint: they derided the order as "terrible" in a 2020 Twitter post.[11] Ian Cohen later observed that the signing of Joyce Manor led a 2010s renaissance for the label: "Never Hungover Again immediately revitalized Epitaph, starting a run of scene-defining records from Pianos Become the Teeth, Touché Amoré, the World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die, and the Sidekicks."[11]

As the album prepared to enter mixing, Johnson grew worried that the sessions were unsalvageable. Epitaph financed the album's mixing process, which was conducted by Tony Hoffer, known for his work with M83 and Phoenix.[22] Gurewitz viewed the choice as right in the band's purview: "He was a guy who'd done pop records, but really cool indie, Pitchfork kind of records,” Gurewitz explains. 'So I thought, OK, that’s the perfect matrix for Joyce Manor.'"[11] Hoffer had a conversation with Johnson about the goals for mixing the album, and he stressed that he preferred the sound of synthesizers to guitars, offering "Friday I'm in Love" as a touchpoint.[11]

The cover art for the album depicts bassist Matt Ebert drunkenly embracing Hop Along's Frances Quinlan.[23] "It looks like two people partying, but there’s nothing dangerous or sexy about it," Ebert joked.[19] Never Hungover Again first debuted as a stream on NPR on July 14, 2014.[24]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.4/10[25]
Metacritic82/100[26]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[27]
Alternative Press[28]
The A.V. ClubA−[29]
Consequence of SoundC+[30]
DIY[31]
Exclaim!8/10[32]
Kerrang!4/5[33]
NME7/10[34]
Pitchfork7.8/10[35]
Wondering Sound[36]

Upon its release, Never Hungover Again received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 82, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 13 reviews.[26] The A.V. Club critic David Anthony wrote that the album "isn’t a complete overhaul of the band’s sound, but with all the gentle twists on those charms, it ends up serving as a re-introduction."[29] AllMusic's Tim Sendra stated: "Joyce Manor make 20 minutes feel way more epic than the running time might promise, and Never Hungover Again ends up as the kind of record that feels like an instant classic."[27] Ian Cohen of Pitchfork thought: "Once you stop trying to label what should be a hook and focus on what is, the ingenuity of each song’s design and the ear-turning nature of every maneuver speaks to Never Hungover Again's inexhaustible quality, the kind of album you can play three times in a row without any part wearing out its welcome."[35]

NPR's Lars Gotrich viewed it a "confident, focused record,"[18] while PopMatters' Tanner Smith found "it has almost peerless consistency in quality [...] The band’s concision is evidenced not only in each song’s respective brevity, but through the rigid structures and arrangements, balancing mathematical control and cathartic release."[37] Maura Johnson from The Boston Globe observed "The resentful “In the Army Now” and determined “Heart Tattoo” clip along thanks to sprightly, melodic bass lines from Matt Ebert and Kurt Walcher’s clockwork drumming."[38] Stereogum's Danielle Chelosky called it their best album, opining: "Never Hungover Again finds the band at their most emotive and compelling — an incisive and intoxicating snapshot of what it means to be alive."[39]

For its tenth anniversary, the album received several retrospective pieces. Brian Stout of PopMatters dubbed it "one of the key punk records of the 2010s",[40] while Grace Robins-Somerville from Paste considered it the most "quintessential" release by the band.[41] For Stereogum, Danielle Chelosky opined "Never Hungover Again masterfully achieves what most artists spend their lives trying to accomplish: It captures intense feeling and passes it on to its listener."[42]

Rankings

[edit]
Select rankings for Never Hungover Again
Publication List Year Rank Ref.
Spin 50 Best Albums of 2014 2014
32
[43]
Allmusic Best Albums of 2014 2014
-
[44]
Spin 30 Best Emo Revival Albums, Ranked 2017
5
[45]
Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Pop-Punk Albums 2017
47
[46]
Pitchfork The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s 2019
90
[47]
Consequence The Top 15 Emo Albums of the Last 15 Years 2022
2
[48]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Joyce Manor

No.TitleLength
1."Christmas Card"2:05
2."Falling in Love Again"2:28
3."End of the Summer"1:49
4."Victoria"1:39
5."Schley"2:07
6."Heart Tattoo"1:50
7."The Jerk"1:46
8."In the Army Now"2:21
9."Catalina Fight Song"1:05
10."Heated Swimming Pool"1:50
Total length:19:00

Personnel

[edit]
Joyce Manor
  • Barry Johnson - vocals, guitar
  • Matt Ebert - bass, vocals
  • Chase Knobbe - guitar
  • Kurt Walcher - drums
Other personnel
  • Joe Reinhart - production, engineering
  • Scott Arnold - design and layout
  • Howie Weinberg - mastering
  • Tony Hoffer - mixing
  • Ariel LeBeau - photography, backing vocals
  • Evan Bernard - assistant production, assistant engineering
  • Alex Estrada - production (vocals)
  • Brett Gurewitz - production (vocals)
  • Terence Calacsan - keyboards
  • Peter Helms - backing vocals

Chart positions

[edit]
Chart (2014) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[49] 106
US Billboard Alternative Albums[50] 24
US Billboard Heatseekers[51] 1
US Billboard Independent Albums[52] 23
US Billboard Top Rock Albums[53] 23
US Billboard Tastemaker Albums[54] 17

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Yancey, Bryne (November 27, 2013). "Joyce Manor recording new album". Punknews.org. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "Joyce Manor at their SummerStage performance on upcoming album and more". Alternative Press Magazine. October 4, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  3. ^ Press, Alt (May 18, 2014). "Joyce Manor, Broncho announced as support for select Brand New tour dates". Alternative Press Magazine. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Interview: Joyce Manor". TheWaster.com. September 12, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  5. ^ "Joyce Manor & Mitski announce NYC-area 3-night run (dates)". BrooklynVegan. December 11, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  6. ^ Ralph, Caitlyn (March 3, 2016). "Modern Baseball announce tour with Joyce Manor". Alternative Press Magazine. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  7. ^ Unterberger, Andrew (September 1, 2016). "Joyce Manor: These Things Take Time". Spin. Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c @instagram (July 22, 2024). ""damn what the fuck ten years since never hungover again came out..."". Retrieved July 24, 2024 – via Instagram.
  9. ^ a b "Artist Feature: Joyce Manor". CBS Los Angeles. February 23, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Chemotti, Lucas (November 26, 2013). "Joyce Manor Are Writing a New Record, Getting Their Songs Covered By Conor Oberst". OC Weekly. Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Cohen, Ian (July 26, 2024). "You Know I Think About It Still: Joyce Manor's SoCal Classic 'Never Hungover Again' Turns 10". The Ringer. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  12. ^ "Joyce Manor: Album By Album With Frontman Barry Johnson". Kerrang!. September 10, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  13. ^ Krueger, Jonah (June 9, 2022). "Joyce Manor on New Album 40 Oz. to Fresno, Fifth Wave Emo and "Trying to Get Murdered" by Sublime Fans: Interview". Consequence. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  14. ^ a b c @instagram (July 23, 2024). ""some people sent messages asking for more info about the gear we used to make NHA soo i decided to make a post that's just for the recording nerds..."". Retrieved July 24, 2024 – via Instagram.
  15. ^ a b Hill, John (July 25, 2014). "Fuck You, Mom, Joyce Manor Is a Real Band Now". VICE. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  16. ^ Baines, Huw. "What Do You Think About Joyce Manor? Barry Johnson Talks 'Cody'". Stereoboard.com. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  17. ^ Sacher, Andrew (June 8, 2022). "How a 'Never Hungover Again' outtake and a text about Sublime led to Joyce Manor's new LP". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  18. ^ a b Gotrich, Lars (July 13, 2014). "Review: Joyce Manor, 'Never Hungover Again'". NPR. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  19. ^ a b Cohen, Ian (July 22, 2014). "» 'Never Hungover Again': A Little Bowling Alley Time With Torrance Pop-Punkers Joyce Manor". » Sports and Pop Culture from our rotating cast of writers – Grantland. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  20. ^ Raymer, Miles (September 30, 2014). "Emo revivalists Joyce Manor share the soundtrack of their tour". EW.com. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  21. ^ Unterberger, Andrew (September 21, 2018). "This Is Post-Growing Up: Joyce Manor's Story Gets Boring So Their Songs and Crowds Don't Have To". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  22. ^ Fortune, Drew (October 7, 2016). "Joyce Manor Grow Up". Bandcamp Daily. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  23. ^ Cohen, Ian (August 21, 2018). "In The Garage: Joyce Manor Share The Scenes And Stories Behind 'Million Dollars To Kill Me'". Stereogum. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  24. ^ Breihan, Tom (July 14, 2014). "Stream Joyce Manor Never Hungover Again". Stereogum. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  25. ^ "Never Hungover Again by Joyce Manor reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  26. ^ a b "Reviews for Never Hungover Again by Joyce Manor". Metacritic. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  27. ^ a b Sendra, Tim. "Never Hungover Again – Joyce Manor". AllMusic. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  28. ^ Shultz, Brian (July 16, 2014). "Joyce Manor – Never Hungover Again". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on August 9, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  29. ^ a b Anthony, David (July 23, 2014). "Joyce Manor's quest to eliminate hangovers proves fruitful". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  30. ^ Geffen, Sasha (July 23, 2014). "Joyce Manor – Never Hungover Again". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  31. ^ Walters, Tom (July 15, 2014). "Joyce Manor – Never Hungover Again". DIY. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  32. ^ Williams, Rebecca M. (July 18, 2014). "Joyce Manor: Never Hungover Again". Exclaim!. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  33. ^ "Joyce Manor: Never Hungover Again". Kerrang!: 53. July 26, 2014.
  34. ^ Goodwyn, Tom (July 21, 2014). "Joyce Manor – 'Never Hungover Again'". NME. Archived from the original on July 27, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  35. ^ a b Cohen, Ian (July 21, 2014). "Joyce Manor: Never Hungover Again". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  36. ^ Seling, Megan (July 22, 2014). "Joyce Manor, Never Hungover Again". Wondering Sound. Archived from the original on September 27, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  37. ^ Smith, Tanner (August 22, 2016). "Joyce Manor: Never Hungover Again, PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  38. ^ Johnston, Maura (July 21, 2014). "Joyce Manor, 'Never Hungover Again'". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  39. ^ Chelosky, Danielle (January 11, 2024). "Joyce Manor Albums From Worst To Best". Stereogum. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  40. ^ Stout, Brian (July 18, 2024). "Joyce Manor's 2024 LP Is a Timeless Snapshot of Fading Youth". PopMatters. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  41. ^ Robins-Somerville, Grace (July 22, 2024). "What Do You Want Me to Say? It's Never Going Away: Joyce Manor's Never Hungover Again at 10". Paste Magazine. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  42. ^ Chelosky, Danielle (July 22, 2024). "Joyce Manor's 'Never Hungover Again' Turns 10". Stereogum. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  43. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2014". SPIN. December 9, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  44. ^ "AllMusic 2014 in Review". AllMusic. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  45. ^ "30 Best Emo Revival Albums, Ranked". SPIN. June 14, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  46. ^ Weingarten, Christopher R.; Galil, Leor; Shteamer, Hank; Spanos, Brittany; Exposito, Suzy; Sherman, Maria; Grow, Kory; Epstein, Dan; Diamond, Jason; Viruet, Pilot (November 15, 2017). "The 50 Greatest Pop-Punk Albums". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  47. ^ "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". Pitchfork. October 8, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  48. ^ Jones, Abby (September 21, 2022). "The Top 15 Emo Albums of the Last 15 Years". Consequence. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  49. ^ "Joyce Manor - Billboard 200 chart". Billboard. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  50. ^ "Joyce Manor - Hard Rock Albums chart". Billboard. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  51. ^ "Joyce Manor - Heatseekers chart". Billboard. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  52. ^ "Joyce Manor - Independent Albums chart". Billboard. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  53. ^ "Joyce Manor - Top Rock Albums chart". Billboard. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  54. ^ "Joyce Manor - Tastemaker Albums chart". Billboard. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
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