Apart from a few uncommitted stabs at electronica (a drum machine here, some DJ scratches there),
School Boy Humor's debut is a fairly commonplace emo-pop album, stuffed with the same pummeling guitars and adolescent carpe diem lyrics that have become the genre's calling card. That's not to say that the self-titled
School Boy Humor is lazily constructed; on the contrary, it's polished to a spit-shine glow, with crisp percussion and multiple guitars all stacked together in neat, even blocks of sound. Producer
Geoff Rockwell deserves accolades, and his prominence in the liner notes -- where he's awarded co-writing credits on all but one song -- indicates his hefty influence over the record. Although
School Boy Humor offers little in terms of originality, "Camera Shy" wields a genuinely fun melody in the chorus, and the bandmates' ever-present harmonies give the hook some added weight. ~ Andrew Leahey