Today’s Janky Fresh Friday for January 30, 2026 brings us two of the most anticipated returns in alternative punk music: The undisputed kings of garage emo, Joyce Manor, and the return of Ben Cook from No Warning’s ambitious rebranding of his jangle-pop folk project Young Guv into simply GUV (very Prince-esque on its surface, but actually makes a lot more sense upon hearing his new album). Both artists delivered us ambitious explorations into new terrains while also being tested in how to stay authentic to their original sounds.
Joyce Manor: I Used To Go To This Bar (released January 30, 2026): Epitaph Records
Joyce Manor has one of the most signature pop-punk sounds out of any band of the post 2010’s, and that aspect alone made them one of the most significant alternative bands that were active throughout my high school years. Sure, Barry Johnson’s strained vocals can sound a bit whiny as he belts about depression and awkward hook-ups during their verses – and I even felt that they had their moments of cringe when I was at the age they were catering to. However Joyce Manor have always been raw and vulnerable at their core, and even these more juvenile moments of songwriting created the perfect moments for not caring what the world thinks and screaming along to every word in an angsty sweaty crowd.
related: When Quaint Gets Core – Home Sick 3 at the Glass House Pomona
Joyce Manor’s choruses specifically were where they always stood out to me, either doubling down and playing progressively louder to create more intense audience vocals or sometimes even just shifting tone completely into the more rapid circle-pit rhythm of an old Descendents song. These moments really cemented their identity as much more than an emo band; but a genuine punk band that has moments of hardcore and post-punk influences, albeit in a more emotionally vulnerable way than you normally hear within the genre.
Unfortunately, Joyce Manor lost a lot of this formula and as a result much of their identity has been lost as well with their newest album I Used To Go To This Bar. The album certainly has its strong moments and the singles aren’t the only good songs by any means, but it has a severe lack of cohesion and vision in the sound it wants to convey. For every moment that sounds like Joyce Manor’s more gritty roots in expressing their vulnerability, there’s a moment that equally sounds like they shoehorned in a radio-friendly alternative influence to get more airtime on KROQ. The track “Falling Into It” sounds eerily like a Weezer song, the guitar riff on “After All You Put Me Through” sounds like it would belong more in a Franz Ferdinand track than anything remotely punk; these influences unfortunately just sound like background elements being imitated and Joyce Manor being slapped on top of them.
related: Emo Is Hot Mulligan at The Hollywood Palladium
Joyce Manor’s always been willing to play with the idea of attracting more mainstream attention, recently being featured on John Mulaney’s newest Netflix skit show, but these moments don’t feel like Joyce Manor wanting to explore new sounds – they feel like Joyce Manor randomly incorporating elements from other artists or genres that would win new audiences over. Wanting to expand as an artist is necessary, but there doesn’t seem to be a vision in doing so here.
The singles that were released in promotion before the album’s release were incredibly promising; I was especially stoked on the first track “I Know Where Mark Chen Lives” with Mark Chen being the frontman of criminally underrated San Gabriel Valley pop-punk bands Summer Vacation and Winter Break. My first exposure to Joyce Manor was actually their split EP with Summer Vacation (with Summer Vacation actually hosting the much better side of the split) and I would regularly see both bands play together at local DIY spot VLHS (Vince Lombardi High School – in reference to the Ramones film) in Pomona when Joyce Manor were still in their early years. On a side note my high-school hardcore band opened for Mark Chen’s Summer Vacation at a church in West Covina; which may seem irrelevant but my nostalgia was through the roof in preparation for this album, and I was completely certain that Joyce Manor making this reference really meant it would be a return to form for their sound.
I was definitely mistaken on the album being a return to form, but the song still rocks. The chorus is one of their catchiest tunes we’ve heard from them since 2016’s Cody, but still manages to have a more downbeat depressed tone that their newer emo audiences gravitate towards them for. It even has one of those signature Joyce Manor moments I mentioned earlier, with the instrumentals cutting out at the last chorus for Barry to scream them acapella before a second reprise where they come back much louder and harder. This song is definitely about to be a major staple in their live performances and it’s easy to clearly imagine the carefree chaos that will be created in the circle pit during its chorus.
related: Every Cap’n Jazz Song Is My Favorite – Live at The Wiltern
The second song “Falling Into It” is really where the cracks in the albums cohesion start to show, and it honestly doesn’t even sound like it comes from the same release as the strong opening track we just heard before it. As I mentioned previously, this song almost offensively sounds like a Weezer track with a chorus that somehow manages to be more boring than most Weezer. There are synthesizers poorly placed throughout the track that are definitely supposed to play into the Weezer vibe more, but they just end up sounding like a song you’d hear The Aquabats play on Yo Gabba Gabba. This song’s an absolute mess.
Sometimes the second track on an album can be a bit of a miss or change in direction, but then the following song brings the experience back on track. Don’t get me wrong; “All My Friends Are So Depressed” is a powerful song that perfectly captures the melancholy tone that it’s trying to portray, almost resembling Morissey’s crooning type of vocals with the somber tone that Barry sings with here. Can you see the problem here, however? Why am I comparing this song to The Smiths when the last one sounded like a throwaway Weezer track? At this point, I knew I just needed to have fun with the rest of the album. Considering it only clocks in at 19 minutes, this is quite easy to do and you’re going to find a lot of moments you love on this release. Maybe it’s kind of silly for me to expect a more cohesive and planned experience from a pop-punk album, but Joyce Manor has delivered these masterpieces in the genre before so I was hoping this would be another example for their pedigree.
related: Irvine Rising – Rise Against and Descendents at Five Point Ampitheater
The album continues to jump all over the place, with the next song “Well, Whatever It Was” having the bounce-y power pop 90’s energy you’d hear from an artist like Third Eye Blind (or maybe a more interesting Weezer song than whatever the hell the last attempt was). It’s really catchy and it’s fun, although it kind of sounds like it could be in an automobile commercial. The following track “I Used To Go To This Bar” is definitely a highlight on the album in my opinion with its faster, more upbeat nature that has the sort of storytelling spoken lyrics you’d find in a Blink-182 song with Mark Hoppus singing. This one doesn’t sound like too much of an imitation, with the more anthemic chorus being distinctly Joyce Manor and definitely providing the more back-to-their-roots sound I was hoping for from this album. Unfortunately, “After All You Put Me Through” follows and this might be the most awkward song of the whole album. The guitars don’t sound remotely punk, garage rock, or emo; almost having an early 00’s Franz Ferdinand or The Killers tone to them, and it just doesn’t fit the band or their emotional sound at all. I don’t want to hear Joyce Manor trying to sound cool – I want to hear them be vulnerable, raw, and kind of cringe.
The final block of songs that the album closes with are probably the highest and most consistent point of the release. “Well, Don’t It Seem Like You’ve Been Here Before?” could almost pass as a song from one of their pre-LP releases, with Barry taking on a more aggressive and neurotic sounding vocal style that really matches the teen angst that they were built on. “Grey Guitar” is perfect as a closing track, really embodying the more anthemic nature of Joyce Manor and it’s sure to be one of the songs that fans learn all of the words to in preparation for seeing them live.
Again, there are really incredibly moments of pure raw garage-punk Joyce Manor excellence here, and really vulnerable, powerful moments of their softer emo side on full display here as well. Unfortunately with an album that only has a runtime of 19 minutes, time is of the upmost importance and nothing can be wasted here. There is way too much awkward filler here taking up valuable space that could have been used to create a more cohesive and crafted Joyce Manor experience, but the peaks of this album are sure to become staple moments in their history especially for diehard fans.
GUV: Warmer Than Gold (released January 30, 2026): Run For Cover Records
When I had first heard about the Young Guv name being retired for simply GUV, I thought this was more of a stylistic or marketing choice. It’s actually a complete rebrand of his sound and feels like it could be considered a different project, so the name change isn’t just justified; it’s absolutely necessary in announcing this identity change. The harmonies and jangly upbeat choruses that GUV is known for are still present, but the instrumentals and production feel distinctly more heavy rock n’ roll, specifically more 90’s Britpop than the more folksy hippie 1970’s influence he used to incorporate. If you liked the previous eras he had as Young Guv then you’re almost certain to enjoy Warmer Than Gold as well – GUV is still the same singer stylistically, but everything around him has been amped up and upgraded completely.
related: Boston Calling – Sound And Fury 2019
Switching up a project’s sound drastically or pivoting directions completely isn’t a new concept to Ben Cook at all. His previous project No Warning was a massive part of early 00’s hardcore, and they created some of the heaviest breakdowns of that era. Even within No Warning’s history, their second album “Suffer, Survive” was massively controversial for its pivot to a mainstream melodic hardcore sound, but it made sense if you knew Ben Cook has written songs for Sum 41. The point is that GUV has experimented with multiple genres throughout his expansive history in music, and he’s never afraid to confuse the audience in pursuit of following the artistic vision he’s called to.
Just on its surface, Ben Cook taking on the britpop genre is definitely comical simply just due to the fact that he’s Canadian rather than British. He performs this new sound with such confidence that you almost forget this however; there’s never moments that feel like imitation; it feels completely natural coming from him. He really nails every aspect of the genre; from Oasis’ signature vocal distortion effects, the more psychedelic groovy jamming moments of The Stone Roses, the complex song structures with acoustic moments that Blur was known for, and even the more frantic demanding megaphone vocals heard in electronic music of the era like Underworld. GUV didn’t just do his homework; it’s instantly clear upon listening that he bleeds this era and these influences, and that he always has whether we noticed it or not.
related: Gorillaz, The Most Human Band, at Youtube Theater
The album instantly throws you into the world of 90’s UK psychedelic pop as soon as the tambourines that open the first song can be heard. GUV couldn’t have picked a better time to tackle this new aesthetic and sound with the massive response to Oasis’ reunion this last year; but again this doesn’t feel opportunistic in any way, it’s a natural progression from the more psychedelic jangle-pop he was making as Young Guv. Now he’s just sporting some sunglasses and a bucket hat as he croons the simple wholesome love songs that he’s known for. Unlike the Joyce Manor album we heard earlier, any influence here has a very specific purpose and vision in making GUV’s music feel even more complete than it already did.
While the Oasis worship is at an all time high on this album (again not in an imitation way, but implementing ideas that make GUV sound even larger and more full), the Stone Roses worship is possibly even higher with the moments of spiraling jams that are dreamy and surreal. The harmonies in the chorus for “Thorns In My Heart” sound like they belong on a Stone Roses b-side and considering how little music we received from the legendary band, that’s the best compliment an artist could receive. So many artists have tried to emulate this sound and nobody has managed to get anywhere close to it, but GUV does it effortlessly here.
Especially on the track “Crash Down Feeling” towards the end of the album, the groovy bassline that is constantly built on is very reminiscent of Stone Roses’ “Fool’s Gold” and the 3 AM festival spots they would play as the dedicated “comedown artist” when the rave artists were finished. It’s very rare that you hear artists even attempt to recreate the sounds from this era, and the only other example I can really think of would be The 1975 at times. It’s kind of bizarre to say that The 1975 and (Young) GUV now have tracks that unintentionally sound similar, but I would argue that GUV incorporates the Stone Roses influence much more accurately.
related: The Sound Of Summer, The Fury Of Fall – Fiddlehead at 1720
A really surprising moment of Warmer Than Gold for me was the track “Oscillating” that seems to incorporate a lot of Underworld influence in its massive-sounding production, atmospheric heavy synths, and with Cook yelling the background vocals through a megaphone. The song resembles something you would hear in the club after a soccer game way more than anything we’ve heard from GUV in the past. This really is one of the most surprising releases I have heard in a long time, as I never would have expected GUV to enter this more high octane rock n’ roll style after the relatively mellow material he gave us as Young Guv. Between the change in name and the rebrand in sound, GUV is clearly dedicated to delivering us the unexpected and Cook’s past in No Warning tells us this as well.
Joyce Manor really could learn something from this new GUV release. It’s very possible to stick to your roots while incorporating new influences, but having a clear vision on how you want to transform as an artist is key in keeping these changes authentic.
Words by Danny Ryan
Featured Image: Taylor Wong
