“I Used To Go To This Bar” is the epitome of pop punk — for better, and for worse. Joyce Manor’s edginess mixed with playfulness delights at certain moments, but at others sounds disjointed. Still, the rockers manage to capture the essence of pure angst. 

Joyce Manor, a pop-punk band made up of California natives — lead vocalist Barry Johnson, guitarist Chase Knobbe and bassist Matt Ebert — released their seventh studio album “I Used To Go To This Bar” on Friday. The album is timeless, sounding like it could’ve been released at any point in the band’s more than 15-year-long career, as the punk, emo-teen sound lives on.

The seasoned band has recently broken through, gaining attention by playing on “John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in LA,” and having their most popular song, “Constant Headache,” featured on Emmy-winning television series “The Bear.”

The opening track —  nonsensically titled “I Know Where Mark Chen Lives” — has a disorienting yet exciting beginning where rhythmic guitar strumming builds tension and vocals come in on an unexpected beat. It’s a startling decision, putting a new spin on the pop punk Joyce Manor has been delivering since 2010.

Smartly, the lyrics, “Train coming down the track / And it almost gave me a heart attack,” mirror the listening experience, as a train seems to rush toward the listener.

As the train pulls into the station, the band falls out of it into “Falling Into It.” When Johnson sings softer, giving his classic shouty punk voice a rest for a while, he sounds similar to Dylan Minnette of Wallows. The chorus of the song is happy and bright, and as Johnson brings back the emo shouty voice, it only adds to the old-school vibe.

The 2010s emo influence is at its worst in “All My Friends Are So Depressed.” It’s the least notable song, with a simple rhyme scheme, the least catchy chorus and a lack of building or changing.

Luckily, the band brings the energy back with “Well, Whatever It Was.” This time sounding more akin to The All-American Rejects, the vocals and guitar riff beautifully and the backing vocals provided by Ebert add much-needed dimension to the song.

While “I Used To Go To This Bar” is the titular song, it is nothing to write home about compared to the other, catchier tunes. Starting with a groovy bassline into an electric guitar solo, the song sounds promising, but the lyrics are slightly unintelligible as Johnson fails to keep up with the drums.

In contrast to the former, upbeat song, “After All You Put Me Through” is weak. The sustained vocals leave too much negative space in the song, a bass-forward tune with few lyrics that feels uncharacteristic for the punk sound, and little buildup makes it difficult to distinguish between verses and choruses.

While the previous song was a snooze, “The Opossum” wakes listeners right up. With banging drums and rocking guitars that sound like an electric-mimicking a banjo, the uptempo song is a head-banger. The lyrics “I’m smoking teenage hash in the grass with an opossum” add to the angsty vibe as the song runs right to the finish line, ending confidently on the downbeat.

Experiencing déjà vu is inevitable when listening to the penultimate track, “Well, Don’t It Seem Like You’ve Been Here Before?” The song sounds nostalgic, bringing it back to the beginning of the album, starting with a soft guitar intro leading into rhythmic vocals that come in all at once at full force. 

The backing vocals in the chorus, as the band echoes the title over and over, make the déjà vu all the more immersive. A surprisingly delightful harmonica outro leads into the greatest and last song on the album. 

Joyce Manor saved the best for last with “Grey Guitar.” From the first note, it is clear that the entire album has been building up to this moment. The opening riff is reminiscent of a darker, edgier “Island in the Sun,” perhaps a by-product of the band’s stint as a supporting act for Weezer on the 2023 “Indie Rock Road Trip” tour. The song doesn’t resolve, yet it is still a satisfying conclusion to the marathon Joyce Manor has been running.

“I Used To Go To This Bar” is nostalgic, but not stuck in the past. It doesn’t quite reinvent the pop-punk sound, but it brings a new, fresh perspective informed by years of artistry.