Album Review: Junior Battles - Idle Ages

Having recently signed with Paper + Plastick Records; Toronto, Ontarios Pop Punk quartet, Junior Battles are clearly a band on the up and 'Idle Ages' will almost definitely give them more than a helping hand.

To put it simply this album is pretty big and a real step up from any past releases, it’s a record that highlights perfectly how much they’ve matured as songwriters since their formation in 2008, from the moment that album opener 'Seventeen' dropped, you’re hooked and what follows is mostly an absolute joy to listen to 'Ever Get The Feeling You’ve Been Cheated?' is almost Tigers Jaw-esque in sound while 'Birthdayparties vs. Punkroutine' will be an instant fan favourite.

Admittedly there are some pointless inclusions 'Architecture' although saved by its lyrical content is pretty boring to listen to and 'Nostalgic At 23' has a weird chorus that doesn’t fit in at all, it sounds like a Billy Talent song, and that’s not just because of the near identical sounding vocals, of which the comparison is noticeable throughout the album but they’re not as prominent as in this song.

With the negatives out of the way, it’s time to reflect once more on what makes the album so good 'Send The Pilots Away' will be a live favourite and 'Living In The Future Of Feelings/No Plan' is far and away the best song on the album, it’s your classic pop punk song with its huge chorus and gang vocals that you’ll be singing along to in no time, the song is part of a brilliant trio of songs that ends the album. 'Passing Out' highlights my first point in that it shows just how much the band have grown as songwriters, it’s a song that represents a bigger sound without ever compromising the integrity and meaning behind what they write, while album closer 'Radio' is an incredibly apt song to close with, once you get past the sombre beginning, the rest of the song is just a party, one to celebrate the end of a truly fine album.

4/5

'Idle Ages' by Junior Battles is available now on Paper + Plastick.

Official Website
Junior Battles on Facebook, Bandcamp, Twitter, and MySpace.

Words by Chris Marshman