Rockfreaks.net

Beach Slang

Cheap Thrills On A Dead End Street EP

Written by: PP on 18/11/2014 00:09:32

Ok. The first EP was awesome, "Cheap Thrills On A Dead End Street" is bloody brilliant. I am now absolutely convinced that Beach Slang is the next big band that's on the verge of a breakthrough if they continue writing records like these two EPs they've released this year. Put together, they represent arguably some of the best material written in punk rock in 2014, and that's without necessarily even belonging one hundred percent into the punk scene given their ambitious and unique soundscape. We're hearing echoes of 90s alternative rock merged with the classic gravelly punk influences of the 90s (think Jawbreaker, Samiam), but crossed with the atmospherics and feeling of records by Crime In Stereo, Superchunk, Leatherface and many others. Fact is, Beach Slang songs aren't even particularly fast, they are flowing through at mid tempo speeds but yet they ooze of so much feeling and passion it's difficult to stay on your chair while listening to them. This holds true live, too, as we saw on their FEST performance this year that drew a couple of hundred people whilst Descendents were busy attracting the majority of the festival on the main stage.

Much of this can be credited to their smoke-laden vocalist, whose expression is one of the smoothest and instantly recognizable ones I've heard in a while within the punk rock scene. Sure, you can argue that his croons recall 90s bands like Goo Goo Dolls to an extent, yet he packs enough charisma and character into his melodies to break apart in an instant. It takes but one listen to "American Girls And French Kisses" to realize the kind of potential we are dealing with here. Its lyrics range between romantic introspection and simple, but extremely effective shouts like "It's Friday night and I'm in the / basement / screaming out my lungs with my / best friends. ". The rhythmic arrangement and the explosive delivery of the song are spot on and can easily be compared to the vocal brilliance of The Menzingers, only in a less clean format. And to think this is just one song out of the four on this EP, or the four on the preceding EP, all of which are genuinely great songs written with hearts on their sleeve and the kind of material that will make you go crazy about a band.

Trust me on this one, this band will go places, and this EP should be enough to convince you why. It has landed somewhere perfectly in between grunge influence, punk rock undertones, and alternative rock sensibilities, while retaining a unique identity that makes it instantly clear which band you are listening to. One of the absolute gems of 2014 that you will be sorry for not discovering sooner; no doubt the best EP of 2014 and, had they been released together, candidates for album of the year together.

Download: American Girls And French Kisses, All Fuzzed Out, We Are Nothing
For the fans of: Samiam, Superchunk, Jawbreaker, Hüsker Dü, Leatherface, Crime In Stereo, Goo Goo Dolls
Listen: Facebook

Release date 30.09.2014
Tiny Engines