We don’t get new music from San Francisco’s Joyride! often, but you know what’s even better than a new Joyride! album? A new album by Joyride! and friends. Jason, Eugene, and Jenna are joined here by their pals Bean, Mai, Jules, Neal, Vicky, Kyle, and Rebs. I don’t know any of these people personally, and I’m not sure naming them all is strictly informative, but I’m absolutely not passing up the opportunity to write ten first names in a music review.

On topic! Joyride! and Friends is fun as hell. It has that trademark charm and catchy indie punk vibe of their past work: midpaced and punchy, burning with a communal spirit and a shared sense of growing up. Lyrically, this thing has serious John K. Samson vibes, like a diary written by a poet with a sharp pen. It’s relatable, life-affirming stuff, sitting somewhere between a therapy session and a long drive with your best friends: full of self-doubt, hard-won wisdom, and the kind of honest reckoning with time and loss that hits harder the older you get. A sense of melancholy is never far away, but the record also sounds like recording these songs was the best possible time for everyone involved. Like a personal mixtape to said long drive.

Damn, this is a whole lot of fun, a great concept executed beautifully.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp