- When a member of Chook Race joins forces with a member of Ausmuteants in what I imagine is a fusion dance, the score for such a dance should theoretically be some high octane music prime for a relentless, animated battle scene. What happens when these two forces become one is the debut, eponymous record by School Damage: an endearing and utterly charming example of how to stay ahead of the often reductive punk rock curve.

While the first discernible feature of this record is the woozy and wobbly, ever-present keyboard, what hits you next and then even more strongly, is the “every man” lyrical content. In a similar vein to the most recent PUP record, and what was a strong drawcard for the now defunct Milhouse, School Damage write direct reflections on their immediate surroundings, dealing with the overarching anxieties surrounding modern love and living through your quarter life crisis. They are surroundings we can almost all relate to: being lost in the endless virtual marketplace on Online Shopping, watching condensation form during Cloudy Skies; contemplating just how much you can suck out of the creative well of pop music with No Ideas.

These common experiences are articulated through well crafted, albeit slightly oddball pop power. As mentioned earlier, the stand out instrument all over this self-titled release is the constant drone of the keyboard. Its oscillations sit neatly atop an ever changing sound bed which ranges from straightforward frantic, more traditional punk stylings to the slowly melancholy smouldering.

It’s that diversity, that ability to change things up which, ironically is the cohesive glue that not only holds this debut outing together but also puts School Damage in a league that's just about their own. It’s a refreshing thing and denotes the band's intelligent song writing, culminating out of the member’s previous releases. For those of you who get nervous without a point of reference to hold on to: if Tigers Jaw were an Australian band, they’d probably be School Damage. Recommended independently and by association.

- Matt Lynch.