Joyce Manor is playing the long game — not out of necessity, but because it's more fun that way. The Torrance, Calif.-born band has surfed the waves of pop-punk notoriety since its 2012 debut, but still has a charming, small-artist kitsch about it. Maybe it's the fact that the group is selling burritos and hot sauce to promote its new album, 40 oz. to Fresno, out June 10. Or maybe it's the members' stubborn rejection of convention, creating records that feel punk yet pristine. On "Gotta Let It Go," your average verse-chorus-verse structure is replaced by an incredibly catchy sustained guitar hook and screamed lyrics that capture a universal (albeit simple) teenage angst, somehow evoking both Wallows and Weezer. These musicians know exactly what they're doing, and that may be why their new record is a mere 17 minutes long. Why keep a song going when the best part's over? Joyce Manor would rather have you hitting repeat over and over again.
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