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Album reviews Music

School Damage

Punk, and especially pop punk, is generally associated with youth. But don’t write off older musicians. Mature songwriters can use the genre’s youthful immediacy as an opportunity for creative introspection. While many bands are aging out of the sound, artists like School Damage instead explore that territory in smart, satisfying ways.

On Battered Lives, the Toronto pop punks confront their own mortality, taking stock of every bruise and scar via memorable hooks and melodies. Despite lyrical themes bordering on self-deprecation, what’s apparent from the outset is that School Damage’s sound is not at all flabby. The three-piece are sharper than ever, and on the highlights of Battered Lives, they explore stylistic flourishes that push the material into truly inspired territory.

Brad Manners is a capable vocalist on his own, but when bassist Jon Cabatan takes over on Dead Weight, the song is better for it. Tales Of The Dude Cave begins with rolling drums and guitar squalls and has almost no words, pushing it outside the stock verse-chorus-verse-guitar break-chorus structure without sacrificing poppiness. Manners also gets playful with his guitar parts on The Ice Is Thin But The Water Is Fine, with a short melodic burst that adds an extra charge to the group’s manic energy. The skilled unit could be having more fun with these kinds of embellishments, setting themselves apart and elevating the material in the process.

Battered Lives is smart and often catchy pop punk, and while School -Damage seem intent on embracing the messiness of adulthood, they could stand to also embrace more of that messiness in their songwriting.

Top track: The Ice Is Thin But The Water Is Fine 

School Damage play a record release show at the Bovine Sex Club on Friday (July 15). See listing.

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