Songs from Northern Torrance

Last updated

Songs from Northern Torrance
Songs from Northern Torrance.jpg
Compilation album by
ReleasedMay 29, 2020 (2020-05-29)
Genre
Length14:52
Label Epitaph
Joyce Manor chronology
Million Dollars to Kill Me
(2018)
Songs from Northern Torrance
(2020)
40 oz. to Fresno
(2022)

Songs from Northern Torrance is a compilation album by the American pop-punk band Joyce Manor. It was released through Epitaph Records on May 29, 2020, as a 45 RPM 12" LP and a digital download.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Background

Joyce Manor formed in northern Torrance, California in 2008, "purportedly ... following a drunken conversation between [frontman Barry] Johnson and fellow guitarist Chase Knobbe in the Disneyland parking lot", naming themselves "after an apartment complex near ... Johnson's home". [1]

Side A compiles early demos from 2008 and 2009 with Johnson and Knobbe joined by drummer Chris Torres, whilst side B contains the entirety of the 2010 Constant Headache EP, seeing Matt Ebert join on bass and Kurt Walcher replacing Torres on drums.[ citation needed ]

Style

Critics contrasted the gritty, [2] "grimy", [1] and "stripped-down" [3] punk and "lo-fi charm" [1] of Joyce Manor's earlier work with their later "refined" [1] and "polished", [3] [2] noting the split between the "lighthearted, sometimes screamy folk punk" [1] side A with the inclusion of fan-favorites like "House Warning Party" [1] [3] [2] and the "full-bore screamo punk-pop", [1] "fuck-it-all angsty classics" [3] of the Constant Headache EP on side B. [2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Paste 8.4/10 [3]
Pitchfork 7.2/10 [2]

Arielle Gordon of Pitchfork said it comes "closest to Johnson's elusive holy grail of punk", also noting that "the compilation's abrasive edge evokes the basements, bowling alleys, and backyards that dot Joyce Manor's southern California home", [2] and AllMusic's Timothy Monger said it "feels like an archaeological dig into the grimy punk basements of West Coast suburbia." [1]

Track listing

Side A

No.TitleOriginal releaseLength
1."House Warning Party"Joyce Manor demo1:04
2."Fuck Koalacaust"Joyce Manor demo1:44
3."DFHP?"Joyce Manor / Summer Vacation split 7"0:41
4."Danke Schoen"previous unreleased demo1:50
5."Who Gave You a Baby"previous unreleased demo0:54
Total length:6:13

Side B

No.TitleOriginal releaseLength
1."Constant Nothing"Constant Headache EP1:27
2."Done Right Discount Flooring"Constant Headache EP1:21
3."Five Beer Plan"Constant Headache EP1:56
4."Chumped"Constant Headache EP1:38
5."Leather Jacket"Constant Headache EP2:17
Total length:8:39
14:52

Personnel

Joyce Manor

Technical personnel

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Monger, Timothy. "Songs From Northern Torrance Review". AllMusic . Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gordon, Arielle (June 10, 2020). "Albums: Songs From Northern Torrance – Joyce Manor". Pitchfork . Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Chelosky, Danielle (May 27, 2020). "Songs From Northern Torrance is Joyce Manor At Their Weirdest". Paste . Retrieved October 12, 2025.