Album Review: Beach Slang - The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us
By Kevin Biggs, Contributor
[Polyvinyl Records; 2015]
Rating: 3.5/5
Key Tracks: “Bad Art & Weirdo Ideas”, “Young and Alive”
Beach Slang, as stated on its website, is simply “guitar, bass and drums . . . played loudly.” There is no gimmick to this Philly-based band and its debut album. The Things We Do to Find People Who Feel Like Us reflects the group’s ability to make decent music with the classic three-piece lineup.
The pop-punk sound of this album packs all the energy of late ‘70s punk acts like The Clash. The songs are fast-paced and you can hear the rebellious spirit in the aggressive guitar playing. James Snyder’s scratchy vocals accompanying the lo-fi instrumentals give Beach Slang that classic punk rock vibe--summed up here, in the lyrics of the aptly-named “I Break Guitars.” “I can’t think with all this noise / I break guitars, I raise my voice.”
The defiant, free-spirited sound works well for a while, but Beach Slang lacks musical diversity. Towards the middle of the album, the songs start to sound similar. It gets to the point where you’re not sure how far into the album you’ve made it, and you question whether it’s worth finishing.
Lyrically, Beach Slang portrays the image of an angst-ridden skater teen searching for a place in the world. The words can be touching, emotional or inspiring: “I’ve always felt stuck, alone or ashamed / The gutter’s too rough, the stars are too safe.” They can be overdramatic and tacky: “Too young to die, too late to die young / I try to fight, but get high and give up / I ain’t ever felt loved, I ain’t ever felt loved.”
Despite the occasional over-the-top lyrics or musical lull in the album, Beach Slang recorded some good songs and The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us is definitely worth a listen. The Philadelphia punk-trio is talented; it will be interesting to see if the group can improve upon this album.
