DIY indie pop four-piece School Damage is a meeting of some of the country’s best musical minds. The result is a free-flowing, wonderfully shambolic debut album that has an instantly captivating sincerity.
When it comes to the trials faced by most 20-somethings, the band cover significant ground. Songs that document frustrations around gossiping and tall poppy syndrome, along with the therapeutic value of online shopping.
Carolyn Hawkins on lead vocals opens the album with the punchy No Ideas, before Jake Robertson takes over on The Bus That Couldn’t Slow Down. While Hawkins’ vocal delivery has a natural melancholy that evokes a sanguine mood, Robertson possesses a hyperactive bend that particularly suits the faster paced songs.
Cloudy Skies is wistfully romantic, while the self-referential School Damage Rockers pairs feelings of nervous anticipation with impressive drumming from Jeff Raty. Try Something New is an honest account of anxiety, the chorus rousing both Robertson and the listener to break away from old traditions and habits.
While the album may chronicle the feelings that pervade a quarter-life crisis, there’s wonderful warmth to each song. There’s a power in expressing your vulnerability and translating this into art, something that School Damage have clearly unlocked from their inception.
