After releasing a rough-and-ready debut that launched them into the upper echelon of noisy pop bands from Australia,
School Damage's second album,
A to X, sands some of the rough edges off their sound, but leaves all the snappy energy, hooky songs, and ramshackle playing intact. There's enough spirit in the grooves to nearly knock the needle right out, especially on jumped-up tracks like "In Love with a Chump" and "Psykick Damage," which have some leftover angular punk in the mix, or those like "Meeting Halfway," which tap into some post-punk urgency. Even the tracks that dial it down to a more relaxed level have a taut, ready-to-burst feeling that's down to the bandmembers playing together more and the rhythm section's one-notch-more-powerful approach. Where the first record felt a little rushed and slapped together (in a good way), this sounds like the work of a very assured combo that has made a leap forward sonically. Unlike the first record, where the singing was split between guitarists
Jake Robertson and
Carolyn Hawkins, this time the latter takes over most of the leads, and she sounds great. Her unadorned vocals fit the everyday observational lyrics in prefect early Flying Nun style. The few times
Robertson steps up to the mike, he makes it count. His vocals on the aforementioned "Meeting Halfway" are impressive, and he contributes two off-kilter ballads ("All Gone" and "Mad About Ed") that give the record some nice balance. Regardless of who's doing the singing, the two guitarists do some strong work throughout, pairing their jangling rhythms with biting leads and never sounding clichéd.
A to X is the rare second record that doesn't strictly copy a solid debut; it takes the best parts and makes them better while adding some new twists and turns. It's not easy for a band to do this, but
School Damage do it easily, and in the process cement their place in the noise pop firmament.