Oh, Canada (Part 9): Damages - Scars

The situation leading up to this review was safe to say one of the more awesome things to happen to me since starting my own music blog. as i think a lot of you who read my blog know, i used to write for a blog called Listen To This Once. Well, one of the members of Damages must have been a follower of that blog because I got a message in my myspace inbox asking if i would like to review their latest 7inch for L.T.T.O. I was really excited. No one has ever asked me personally to review their album. Up until this point I’ve just written about bands and albums i just really love. But I was really excited at the possible opportunity. So I told Andrew, from Damages, that that blog no longer existed but that i would be more than happy to write about their EP on here. And they said that was fine. To quote Wayne Campbell, “Excellent!” Now as I said, I'd never heard Damages prior to their offer, but what is so rad is, they are definitely my type of band. Maybe that's why I was asked to review this in the first place. They knew from my track record that I’d love it. Damages hail from Vancouver, British Columbia. But what they sound like, they could easily be confused with something coming out of Ottawa. Maybe in the mid-nineties? Okay, what I’m getting at is that, to me, Damages sounds like a direct musical descendant from Okara, Shotmaker, and the like. And that is honestly a very great thing, because I love those bands. Quick rant. Alot of times really shit bands will list awesome bands as a influences. and you think to yourself the band “Fall Out Boy are a bunch of fucking liars.” Check out the list of influences Damages has listed on their myspace, and know that none of them are bullshit…“Shotmaker, The Jesus Lizard, Swiz, Black Flag, Yaphet Kotto, Unwound, Shellac, Fugazi, 400 Years, Brito, Portraits of Past, Render Useless, Still Life, Embrace, Dischord, SST, Ebullition, Touch and Go” I KNOW RIGHT?! Fucking awesome. The two song “Scars” 7inch is very energetic and heavy. Both of the songs are fast and driving. Side A’s “Gears” starts with screamed/yelled lyrics and fast/dissonant guitar chords. next thing you know the bass kicks in, and it continues from there. If I had to pick one element from this band that is most close to the Shotmaker/Okara comparison, it might be the bass work. The basslines on these two songs are totally awesome. All over the place doing crazy shit, straight forward and heavy when the guitar is doing more intricate lines. The guitar has that buzzsaw sound, and style that you could say was influenced from everything from Shellac to Drive Like Jehu to Fugazi. Like i said, their influences don't lie. “A Failing Cell” on Side B is kindred to the energy of “Gears” but as some more breakdown-y, head bobbing parts. (Hold your horses stupid money grabbing jock hardcore kid. I think the Hatebreed concert is down the street.) It also contains more riff’s, which usually coincide with the aforementioned “breakdowns.” The song soon builds and builds till it hits a point at the end where its like it keeps hitting you in the face repeatedly. This is a good thing. This band is a good band. This EP is a excellent EP. I recommend anyone who is a fan of the brand of canadian post hardcore/mathy emocore/ hardcore/etc. DEFINITELY check this band out. I really love what they are doing musically and hope they continue forward releasing more awesome music. Many thanks to Damages for letting me review their EP!

Listen To Scars Here

Buy The Scars 7inch Here