The California-based Joyce Manor — one of the more respectable acts to come out of this whole “emo revival” of the last decade — is back with another 20-minute album. On “Million Dollars to Kill Me,” the band keeps things short with its trademark, punk-inspired anthems while also veering into the realm of power pop.
Some of these songs take a notable influence from a few of the more sentimental acts of the 1990s. “Gone Tomorrow,” the album’s penultimate track, could easily be mistaken for a Teenage Fanclub song with its vocal harmonies and driving power chords. The same goes for “Silly Games,” which adds in piano keys and bells to compliment the song’s already catchy, pop melody.
It’s more than a cheap imitation, however, and closer to a charming pastiche, a sound that merges well with Joyce Manor’s emotive subject matter.
Then there is the painfully sincere “Friends We Met Online,” with lyrics that wouldn’t feel out of place on a 2000s era Weezer album. That probably sounds like a bad association, but it doesn’t have to be. The band’s lead singer, Barry Johnson, is aware of how corny things get. “I know that it sounds kinda lame when I say it out loud,” he sings. “But it’s true we met there / It’s where we spent most of our time / Talking to friends, friends that we met online.”
Much of the other lyrics on “Million Dollars to Kill Me” consist of the typical emo fanfare: loneliness and messy relationships. Joyce Manor has never shied away from awkward and personal topics, so vulnerable song titles like “Think I’m Still in Love with You” shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise.

The lyrics also get harsh and self-deprecating on the album’s emotional title track — “One day you will realize / You are nothing, nothing without her / You’re an asshole from a bar / On a break in a break room / And you’re never happy” — but they glide by smoothly with a confident vocal delivery that pairs nicely with the song’s punky lead guitar.
The album reaches its high point during these moments, when the band is playing to its strengths, but some of its more surprising tracks also help to keep the album interesting.
“Wildflowers,” the album’s upbeat closer, is much brighter than most Joyce Manor songs, but despite the sunny instrumental, the band manages to keep a melancholic mood. “Wildflowers / At the side of the road / Caught my eye / And turned my heart to stone,” Johnson sings. The lyrics aren’t really anything to write home about, but they’re probably just enough to make the tears come on an especially bad day.
The band also shows some versatility with a decent acoustic venture on “I’m Not the One.” The musings on money and morality bring some nice variation in the album’s lyrics, but overall the track is a little too soft to be noticed.
There’s enough satisfying moments on the album, however, to make up for its weaker points. “Million Dollars to Kill Me” may not be groundbreaking — and with its noticeably short length, it really couldn’t be —  but Joyce Manor still manages to bring some fun into the melodrama of daily life.