ALBUM REVIEW: From Now On – Beauty School
On From Now On, BEAUTY SCHOOL stake their claim as pop-punk heavyweights. With larger than life hooks and big choruses, From Now On meets BEAUTY SCHOOL where they are and at what they do best. Yet, as its title invites, theres also a glimpse that there could be more beneath the surface to come for the band. The album opens on the two part introduction of A Part Of Everything and Seeds For The Roses. The building crescendo of the first propels the album into the quintessential BEAUTY SCHOOL sound on Seeds For The Roses. Big melodic hooks and loud guitars strike at the core of the band’s pop-punk sound, and From Now On offers that in tenfold.
BEAUTY SCHOOL have mastered this facet of their sound and on From Now On, they present it in their most polished way yet. Tracks like When I’m Feeling Down boast meticulously crafted choruses that are big and catchy. The single Old Rotten Teeth flies this flag proudly, offering a bright and punchy track that is guaranteed to get stuck in your head. When BEAUTY SCHOOL hone this, they sound the most assured they have yet. But there are moments that this formula can feel repetitive across the album, and tracks like Lately, Okinawa, and Cowboy Milk find themselves lost and unsure amongst these heavier hitters.
Instead, amongst these roaring pop-punk anthems, it is the unexpected moments that make From Now On interesting. Reaper sounds massive and takes a slightly darker atmosphere, with the building drum lines and vulnerability of the vocals ripping at the seams of the track. The featured vocals from Dan Campbell (THE WONDER YEARS) feel as much like pop-punk wish fulfilment as they are the perfect match to the track’s emotional currents and nostalgic hauntings. This emotional weight is there throughout the album, with grief, anxiety, and growth hitting you at each corner. But, in these moments where the band move in a slightly different direction, the vulnerability of their songwriting is able to rip out and hit you in the heart.
On Gloom, we find another slightly different side to BEAUTY SCHOOL. The screamed vocals and fast blast beats that open the track veer into a heavier territory than a lot of the pop-punk hooks that dominate the album. Gloom is a unique moment, showing a grittier side of the band, and it’s a distinct stand out for this reason. On the other side of the coin, Astel is a fully acoustic moment, stripping back the noise and offering a vulnerability and a reverb on the vocal that puts you right in the room. The track leans into their more emo influences, and again offers a glimpse into what else the band may to offer.
This sense of what might come next for the band is laced even into the title of the album. BEAUTY SCHOOL know that they can tear up a pop-punk song with catchy hooks and infectious melodies, but From Now On is at its most poignant when they move in slightly different directions. From Now On feels like a transitional album for the band, but amidst its growing pains, BEAUTY SCHOOL show that they have more tricks up their sleeves.
Rating: 7/10
From Now On is out now via Slam Dunk Records.
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