Toronto’s Junior Battles are a hard working band. In the last three years they’ve released three 7-inch records, toured extensively through Ontario, Quebec and the Eastern United States and recently released a full-length record, Idle Ages, on the upcoming American label Paper + Plastick.

The closest thing they have to a business model eschews traditional, dogmatic paradigms held by the mainstream music industry: they’ve released all of their music for free online. Sonically, the band piles epic gang vocals on top of melodic guitars and speedy drums. The result is a sense of nostalgia as your inner 16-year-old punk rocker rejoices, but the music remains competent and engaging enough that the cynical adult in you doesn’t need to be embarrassed.

This week, the band is playing Warped Tour. We caught up with vocalist and guitarist Sam Sutherland to talk about music, growing up and the joys of vinyl.

So you guys just released an album, let’s talk about that a bit. Where’d you record it? How long did it take? Is it everything you dreamed it would be? How has the response been so far?
We recorded the album at Drive Studios with Steve Rizun. Steve is an old friend and lovable curmudgeon, and he was invaluable in helping us make the record sound how we wanted it to sound. Because we’re total pricks about picking different tones for each song, and then layering a mess of weird sound on top, the process lasted from the beginning of December until the end of March. By the end, I thought I had lost my mind, but I think the final product is worth it. You never know if you’ll ever get to make another full-length record, so we all felt like this had to be our grand statement. I think it is, and I’m incredibly proud of it. As for outside responses, so far, so good. People have been very kind.

You’re releasing this on CD as well as vinyl, and you’ve put out vinyl before. What is it about vinyl that draws you to the format?
I think a lot of geeks my age will agree that, as music becomes an increasingly digital art form, it’s important to claw back some element of the physical aspect. Records and tapes help you connect with music the way you did when you were a kid, and the offer something extra, either the fidelity of analog or the collectability of variations.

How was it working with Paper + Plastick for this?
Paper + Plastick has been amazing to work with. [Label owner] Vinnie is simultaneously trusting and supportive, and eager to explore new ideas in terms of how a label can run. He didn’t bat an eyelash when we told him we wanted the record to be available for free online, which isn’t very common amongst label folks. We’ve been fortunate enough to always work with people who see the big picture of the way the distribution and collection of music has changed, and Paper + Plastick is another great group of people who are willing to work the way we want to work, while offering us the extra support, ideas, and enthusiasm of a label of their size. It’s a pretty ideal relationship.

You guys are touring a lot in support of the record. How has that been? You’re heading into the States a lot, any plans for more Canadian dates?
I just got back from our first weekend out, and it was great. We’re doing something called the Weekend Warrior Tour; basically a different state or province every weekend for the whole summer. Next weekend we’re playing around Ontario, which is the extent of our planned Canadian shows this summer. We’re hoping to do more come fall.

For some reason when I listen to your record I keep thinking of the movie Suburbia starring Giovanni Rabishi. You invoke a lot of youthful imagery in your music and I’m just wondering where that comes from.
This rules. Yes, you are exactly right. After writing the first few songs, it became pretty clear that both myself and Aaron, the other lyricist in the band, were hitting on a lot of the same ideas, struggling with the idea of growing up and adapting our youthful sense of self into an adult set of responsibilities. We weren’t trying to invoke a feeling of nostalgia, but more of that intangible sense that you are changing in some way and you’re not sure how you feel about it.

Can you talk a bit about how the band got together?
We all had played together at various points in a band that had tried and not quite succeeded at being our first "go for it" project. It left us all a little burned and disinterested in being serious about music, so we started the band as a way to hang out and play loud music and get some drink tickets. At some point, we realized we really loved what we were doing and actually started putting time into writing and practicing. Now, we own a van and have performance visas for the U.S. The world sometimes has different plans for you.

And what’s next for the band?
We’re playing a run of Ontario shows starting in a few days, including our first-ever appearance at Warped Tour, which is a bizarre childhood notch in my belt. We have a lot more dates in the States over the rest of the summer, and we’ll be playing Fest in Gainesville again this October. The biggest thing for us right now is getting this record out into the world. We spent months under a pile of snow trying to make this big sound that we had in our heads, and now we have a chance to play those songs for people and see if anyone connects with it. It’s an exciting time.

Recommended track: "Seventeen"

Junior Battles are:
Sam Sutherland – Vocals, guitar
Aaron Zorgel – Vocals, guitar
Justin Taylor – Bass, vocals
Joel Dickau – Drums, vocals