Beach Slang

A Loud Bash Of Teenage Feelings

Written by: PP on 10/11/2016 22:45:06

"Let's get lost in this feeling / Like we're never going to die", sings Alex James on sophomore album "A Loud Bash Of Teenage Feelings", encompassing the awe-inspiring mood and soundscape of Beach Slang perfectly in two short lines. Released less than a year after last year's masterpiece "The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us", the phrases also symbolize the momentum and vitality of Beach Slang right now. Is there another band that sounds as passionate, as genuine, and as brutally honest as Slang do in 2016? It'd be nonsensical to switch away from a near-perfect formula, so fans will rejoice that the new album sounds almost identical to how they've sounded like for three releases now with a couple of minor, carefully calibrated tweaks to ensure the records stay fresh.

So with that said, if you've heard one Beach Slang song, you've essentially heard "A Loud Bash Of Teenage Feelings" already. The same, nostalgia-driven, romanticized soundscape with faded back, smoky vocals and larger-than-life, expansive guitar melodies are still the driving force of the band. It's an instantly familiar sound, perhaps a little less anthemic and catch-phrase driven than in the past, yet still offers plenty of passionate lines that stick immediately: "I can't love you raw enough" on "Hot Tramps" or "The words I scream are meaningless or holy things" on "Punks In A Disco Bar". For some, James Alex's lines may come across cliché, and there's no argument that his inner poet does have an aptitude for cheese, but they are earnest and it's the delivery that counts. Lyrics like "We're not fucked, we are fucking alive" ("Future Mixtape For The Art Kids") or "I'm hardly ever right but I've never been wrong" ("Spin The Dial") are delivered with enough passion for lighting up a generation of misfits to sing along. It's simple, but it just works.

There are few small, mostly cosmetic changes since the debut album. "Atom Bomb", for instance, continues along the lines of the breakneck speed punk of "Ride The Wild Haze", but essentially the record offers the same buzzing, reverb-laden guitar sound along with Alex's faint lyrical anthems as before. And thank heavens for that: it's a sound that's simply happening right now: the emotive energy is palpable. There is virtually no reason for Beach Slang to change, a second (or fourth, if you count the EPs) masterpiece in a row is proof supporting that statement.

Download: Punks In A Disco Bar, Spin The Dial, Hot Tramps
For the fans of: The Replacements, Jawbreaker, Leatherface
Listen: Facebook

Release date 23.09.2016
Polyvinyl Records

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