New Music Reviews: Angine de Poitrine and Joyce Manor

It’s an unusually rocking week – the microtonal art rock of Angine de Poitrine and the punk of Joyce Manor

Angine de Poitrine

Vol.II

2026, 8/10
If Geese were the breakout indie act of 2025, Quebecois math-rock duo are 2026’s newly anointed stars. They’re more unexpected than most – a masked, anonymous duo who play mostly instrumental jams, recalling 2000s math-rock bands like Battles.

Guitarist Khn de Poitrine plays a double-necked guitar with extra frets, allowing the duo to venture outside the limitations of Western 12-tone scales. He uses loop pedals to build up songs, looping complex bass and guitar parts. Meanwhile, drummer Klek de Poitrine plays crisp, funky drum parts.

It’s technically impressive, but still accessible. Vol. II starts with the electronic-infused ‘Fabienk’, futuristic and funky. ‘Utzp’ starts like a demented country polka, before devolving into lightning-paced guitar runs. The hyperactive, popping basslines are consistently impressive, like on ‘Sarniezz’.

Angine de Poitrine’s ability to make complex music fun is commendable.

Joyce Manor

I Used To Go To This Bar

2026, 8.5/10
Californian punk band Joyce Manor know how to make punk records. Ten songs, twenty minutes, is the perfect length for their adrenaline-fuelled songs. Since forming in 2008, they’ve released seven albums, none longer than 24 minutes.

Their sound is reminiscent of 1990s pop-punk bands like Blink-182, but they’re intelligent and diverse. Vocalist Barry Johnson’s first music purchase was Ace of Base, while they also cite melodic guitar bands like The Smiths and Guided By Voices.

If Barry was a novelist, he’d be Ernest Hemingway.
Brad Gurewitz, Bad Religion (producer of I Used To Go To This Bar)

‘After All You Put Me Through’, where the bass drives the song, and the guitar comes in and out for impact. There’s also a lighter side on ‘Falling Into It’, with a mellow vocal and Cars-like synths. They save their best riff for last with ‘Grey Guitar’ – it’s more ferocious on this live version:

Joyce Manor are articulate and energetic, one of my favourite discoveries of 2026.

3 Comments

Badfinger (Max)

May 17, 2026 / 1:28 am Reply

I had a sports blogger recommend Angine de Poitrine a few weeks ago. Love the bass sound…and it kinda reminded me of Devo just a little.
Joyce Manor…I thought I would like them when I read they were influenced by Guided by Voices…and I do. Punk and Pop go together well…when I think of that genre I think of the Buzzcocks… but yea I like this band.
- Aphoristical
  
  May 17, 2026 / 5:38 pm Reply
  
  You’re right – Buzzcocks are kind of the ground zero for that pop/punk sound. I didn’t really like the 1990s pop/punk stuff – it seemed a bit dumb for my liking. But Joyce Manor are smart.
  - Badfinger (Max)
    
    May 18, 2026 / 3:30 am Reply
    
    They do have a good sound and what lyrics I heard I liked.