Influences: 6 Albums That Influenced Beauty School’s ‘From Now On’

On their second album, ‘From Now On,’ Leeds sextet Beauty School come into their own with a mix of aching old-school emo, springy pop-punk and driving alternative rock. Their roots are firmly embedded in their local scene, playing together in various combinations and under different guises. Nevertheless, From Now On’ sounds and feels like the realised version of Beauty School.

Led by the soaring and soulful vocals of Joe Cabrera, the album’s 14 tracks dig deeper into relatable themes such as mental health, personal loss, workplace neglect, substance abuse, and nostalgia. It allows moments such as ‘When I’m Feeling Down’ and ‘Lately’ to resonate through a combination of big choruses and emotional words. Tonally, the six-piece show depth. For every energetic blast of angst-filled pop-punk (such as ‘Gloom’ and ‘Armitage‘), there’s the whizzing emo-rock of ‘Seeds for the Roses’ and ‘Okinawa’. In-between moments, such as ‘Astel’, push the raw emotions to the forefront.

Undoubtedly, Beauty School carry their influences with pride. Whether that’s through Cabrera utilising his love of indie folk melodies, or the bold emo-rock and Midwest emo guitars from Jordan Hill, Dan Shaw, and Grant Beeden Clayton. While Charlie Thomas’ dynamic drum work, or Jason Blackburn’s expansive bass lines, shouldn’t be ignored.

Following the release of ‘From Now On,’ and ahead of a UK headline tour in the new year, Beauty School have picked out six records that helped shape their second album.

LS Dunes – Past Lives

Grant Beeden Clayton: It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of this band—I’ve got tattoos of two of their earlier projects on my leg! ‘Past Lives’ is one of those albums I’ve spent a lot of time with, and it still hits just as hard every time I listen.

I’ve been lucky enough to cross paths with LS Dunes twice. At Slam Dunk 2024, Anthony Green (LS Dunes vocalist) came up to me after our set to say he liked my band, which completely blew my mind. We got the chance to support them in Cardiff on their headline tour – an experience I’ll never forget.

The album, and the way they bring it to life on stage, really stuck with me. It made me want our record to capture the same kind of energy we put into our shows: hard-hitting, full of life, and powerful.

Bon Iver – 22, A Million

Joe Cabrera (vocals): Emo/pop punk music is where my heart is, it’s what I grew up listening to, it’s the scene that gave me a home and place to be my authentic self. That’s what I want Beauty School to sound like, they are the people I want to surround myself with and the people I want standing in front of me when we play live. But the blueprint for emo or pop punk vocals is rarely where I draw my inspiration from when writing vocal melodies. The best melodies for me are always drenched in that emotive folk sound.

Bon Iver has been a constant inspiration for me when I shape how I want a melody to sound. They almost always gel so well with the musical sound that the rest of the guys create. You might not recognise it or hear it initially, but virtually every melody I have written on this record came from that folky part of my brain, and for me, it’s a match made in heaven… and ultra depressing sadness.

Jimmy Eat World – Bleed American

Jordan Hill (guitar): Where do I even begin?! One of the greatest albums of all time? Definitely! Continuously in my younger years, I’m almost certain ‘The Middle’ has soundtracked many a milestone. Some would say overplayed, but let’s be real, there’s a reason you’ve heard it that many times! Let’s not forget about the rest of the album, of course!

Start to finish, wonderfully constructed song order. There’s highs, there’s lows, and I still get goosebumps now during the intro to ‘Get It Faster’ and could ‘A Praise Chorus’ be one of the best songs of all time?

It’s now become a main stay when we’re travelling in the van; be it an early start on the way to the first show of tour or even that late van ride sing along after a show where me, Joe and JD have decided to indulge in the rider and then some much to the dismay of anyone trying to get some shut eye on that 45 minute drive to the nearest motorway side hotel.

When thinking of ideas, it’s always there in the back of my mind! Even the album art is timeless and will forever look so damn cool. It also still warms my heart whenever anyone compares us to these guys!

Cartel – Chroma

Dan Shaw (guitar): This whole album end-to-end is a huge sing-along with a proper beginning and a definitive ending. My old housemate and I were obsessed with it throughout the 2010s.

When we first started writing ‘FNO’, Joe and I had been certain we wanted to follow a similar formula because, for me anyway, it always takes me back to more chill times when things were lighter. I’ve probably listened to this record more than any other over the years, and the hooks live in my head rent-free.

Third Eye Blind – Third Eye Blind

Charlie Thomas (drums): Ever since I heard 3EB’s Self-Titled debut, I’ve not found myself going back over it again and again every week. To any new listener, I urge you to look past the singles on this and really go all in on the track listing – wall to wall hits.

When we were writing ‘From Now On’, I referenced so much of the drumming across this album – the opener ‘Losing Half a Year’ and ‘Motorcycle Drive B’y especially – both tracked by 90s session great Michael Urbano. Also, ‘Graduate’ has graced many, many long drives on the communal playlist whilst on tour – a smash hit.

I love records which feel great, and that’s always my focus as a drummer – how to bring that into the session and live environment. On this record, there’s no single head not bobbing when it comes on, and I wanted to try and bring that to ‘From Now On’ too.

Taking Back Sunday – Louder Now

Jason Blackburn (bass): This was the first record I really dove into as a bass player, and it pushed me to explore ways of expanding my playing without overpowering the songs themselves.

We played a show for Key Club’s 10th anniversary, where we covered ‘MakeDamnSure’. Taking Back Sunday had been a huge influence on me as a guitarist growing up, but it wasn’t until then that I realised just how inventive and wild Matt Rubano’s bass parts were on this album.

That discovery completely changed the way I approached the instrument, and ‘Louder Now’ became a constant source of inspiration for shaping the bass on ‘From Now On’.

‘From Now On’ by Beauty School is out now on Slam Dunk Records.

Beauty School will be going out on a headline tour in February 2026.

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