On ‘From Now On’, Beauty School finally reap the rewards of relentless touring and tireless efforts to perfect their signature blend of aching old-school emo, springy pop-punk and driving alternative rock. The Sophomore album is a hugely ambitious and near pitch-perfect modern pop-punk reimagining of 90’s American radio-rock a la Third Eye Blind and Jimmy Eat World but piecing together their most personal work to date has been no easy feat. Having spent years in the scene finding their feet, the album is a culmination of nearly a decade of refinement and serves as a cathartic release from life’s toughest realities: “From Now On is defined by struggle, the struggle to overcome grief, loneliness, and the mental health struggles that we all experience in one way or another. It’s also about living in this strange, corporate-driven world that can feel confusing and soul-crushing at times.” Self-proclaimed “Slam Dunk Festival born and bred”, the six-piece spent their formative years deeply embedded in the Leeds rock scene – cutting their teeth under a host of different monikers and through various lineup changes on the journey towards crafting the signature anthemic Beauty School sound. Since firmly establishing themselves as Yorkshire’s true answer to Midwest emo, they’ve grown into a real force on the live circuit having toured with rock titans The Wonder Years, Hot Mulligan, State Champs and Bowling For Soup alongside festival appearances at Slam Dunk, Download and 2000 Trees. Although showcasing a promising glimpse into their ability to carefully consider close-to-home topics and difficult lived experiences, 2022 debut album ‘Happiness’ arrived with an understandable light-hearted sheen of optimism. Reflecting on the band’s early enthusiasm and perhaps naivety frontman Joe Cabrera explained: “Even though the album title was kind of a play on words we were just so excited to be doing what we were doing at that time. It felt like a fitting title for the record. Four years on since we put pen to paper on that first record, we have had to mature and adapt to lives that we were perhaps naive about back then. The reality of working in the music industry, the strains on our mental health, the balancing of our personal lives, the loss of relationships and the passing of family members, the anxiety of the rug being pulled out from beneath us and even maintaining our love for each other and the band itself.” “Those are the themes that are woven into all the new music we have written. We are angrier, and we are changed but we are more ambitious than we have ever been. We have come through some really tough times to get here.” ‘From Now On’ see’s Beauty School dig deeper than ever before into darker, more complex emotional material yet still managing to find moments of hope and resilience through it all. The epic two-part opener ‘A Part of Everything’ & ‘Seeds for the Roses’ was written specifically as an introduction to the album serving as a perfectly condensed journey exploring the crux of the record both sonically and thematically. Songwriter and guitarist Dan Shaw explained: “In the two years since Happiness was released, I had personally experienced a significant amount of grief through the loss of two of my grandparents and seeing another slip further into the loss of self which is dementia. I wanted to include themes that tried to avoid dwelling within the negative of these types of events and instead wanted to remember them for their kindnesses by immortalising them through their deeds and fond memories as well as sharing my personal experience coping with funerals, fallouts and the feelings that follow. A Part of Everything is just that, a homage to a tough time, the memories that will stay with me and the light at the end of the tunnel.” Writing together in a way that only years of enduring friendship can allow, Joe and Dan flex their now tried and tested songwriting chops with a newfound confidence. Across the record they deftly weave subjects of isolation and listlessness, substance abuse, workplace neglect, nostalgia and mortality into cohesive album of authentic and impassioned rock anthems that places the duo’s unabashedly profound lyricism front and centre. With much of the album written during or about long touring stints, hard-hitting track ‘Reaper’ was penned whilst on the road with The Wonder Years. Having grown up listening to and taking huge influence from the Pennsylvanian six-piece, the band had the pleasure of fulfilling a huge personal full-circle moment when Dan ‘Soupy’ Campbell agreed to collaborate on the track: “We wrote this song whilst on the road with The Wonder Years. We grew up with that band and they have influenced us in so many ways. Not to mention how much we learnt from them by being on the road together. To have Dan ‘Soupy’ Campbell featured on this track feels like a real full-circle moment and I couldn’t think of a voice more fitting to deliver the piercing emotion we wanted to drive home on this track.” The eponymous and suitably mature title track fittingly closes out the record, bringing home one last time the album’s central theme of catharsis before starting anew. Joe Cabrera summed up: “Everyone has those things in their life for better or worse that they can’t seem to let go of. Friendships, relationships, addictions. Sometimes all of the above. From Now On is all about letting go. Wiping the slate clean and moving forward. Even when it feels impossible… There’s no before, no after, just from now on…” | 
