We're thrilled today to debut Critical Excess, the third full-length from Toronto punks School Damage! After snagging on the global vinyl backlog the new record's finally available through Pennsylvania's Moms Basement and Italy's I Buy Records, with a cassette version out through Cats Claw Records in the UK. The 13-song/25-minute set lands as the melodic hardcore trio's first long-player since 2018's Hello, Cruel World.
First assembled in 2010, the modern day School Damage lineup features guitarist/vocalist Brad Manners, bassist/vocalist Jon Cabatan, and drummer Den Den Lee (formerly of Montreal's Boids and The Planet Smashers). Cabatan engineered the record alongside Greg Hounsell of fellow Toronto punks Brutal Youth. Hounsell also mixed, with Josh Roman mastering.
The members of School Damage waited out the pandemic with several side projects. Brad Manners and his Issues issued the isolation-era Bored to be Alive EP in the summer of 2020, recording remotely with members of The Vapids and Brutal Youth. A scathing three-song EP billed as Atomic Wrong followed in February of 2021.
This story is part of a reporting partnership between Punknews.org and Some Party, a weekly newsletter covering independent Canadian rock music. Subscribe at someparty.ca.