Now, when I first heard Beach Slang’s 2015 debut “The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us”, I thought, “This is it. These guys are the next big thing”. Beach Slang were writing anthemic songs so catchy that anyone could sing along, while remaining aggressive enough and punchy enough to remain somewhat “heavy”. However, since then I’ve heard all sorts of rumors of tension between band members and rumors of a break-up well on its way, which really worried me for the bands second album. Needless to say though, I was super impressed hearing the first few singles from this bad boy here. So let’s chat about Beach Slang’s second full length album, “A Loud Bash Of Teenage Feelings”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsB7juies9U
(One of many moments that made me fall in love with these guys).
(One of many moments that made me fall in love with these guys).
The album starts off pretty straightforward with “Future Mix Tape for Art Kids”. Right from the opening guitar riff, you can tell Beach Slang are going for a slightly heavier sound. The band definitely has the same attitude, starting things off with a solid bang from the guitar riff and a flurry of great lyrics. Lyrically, I’ve always really enjoyed Beach Slang’s work, especially their way to take every day experiences and feelings and putting their own unique twist on them. Not to mention, there’s always been such a wonderful simplicity to the band lyricism that they pull off so wonderfully. To me, Beach Slang has always been that bar band that you literally race out and tell EVERYONE about. “Future Mix Tape for Art Kids” is just a solid, upbeat intro that ushers in Beach Slang’s sound wonderfully while not giving too much away. The hook here is catchy as you would expect from these guys, and for an intro it’s very focused. Not to mention, those guitars that build up around the 1:45 mark are some of the most epic sounds I’ve heard from Beach Slang. The amount of focus the band has though takes a quick nose dive with “Atom Bomb”. All the better elements of Beach Slang’s music are indeed right here, but the lyrics here are so basic and half-assed. Yes, Beach Slang have always been on the simpler side, but “Atom Bomb” is just repetitive and almost annoying in spots. It’s not the worst song I’ve heard here, far from it, but I just expect a little bit more. Like, I absolutely love how loud “Atom Bomb” is, and as far as the melodies go they're just as catchy as I like from these guys. Not to mention the sheer energy these guys end up pulling out is beyond commendable. Moving on to “Spin The Dial”, Beach Slang slow it down a bit and go for a punchier track, which is honestly something I’ve always welcomed from Beach Slang. Now I don’t want to be THAT GUY, and I know so many people have said it and will continue to say it, but I’ll be damned if these guys don’t come off with a huge Replacements vibe. “Spin The Dial” is Beach Slang at their most Replacements sounding, and while the verses don’t end up doing that much for me, the chorus is one of the most memorable here. Now while at first listen, Beach Slang sound just as fired up and focused as their debut album, really small details show otherwise. Take for example the later track “Wasted Daze of Youth”. At first it just sounds like a solid Beach Slang track, but as it goes on there are just so many bizarre lines here and there. I’m down for an obscure lyric or two, but there are lines here that are just awkward. “Wasted Daze of Youth” has all the tools to be a great track, but it really doesn't add up. At all. Not to mention, it ends super abruptly, making “Wasted Daze of Youth” come off as more of an incomplete afterthought than anything.
I think my main problem with this album, is just how many listens it takes to enjoy some of these tracks. When I first listened to Beach Slang’s debut, on my first listen I felt like I’d listened to the song’s for years. They instantly hit home with me and I immediately fell in love. There are however a few tracks here that give me that same feeling. For example, “Art Damage” right off the bat gives me that timeless feeling that I was looking for desperately at this point. The guitar riff is anthemic and the lyrics paint a more rough and tough picture of the band. THIS is the more “”first listen appeal” i was craving, and it’s very good. “Art Damage” is simple yes, but it’s incredibly focused, and it’s the truest thing to the Beach Slang formula so far. Then we have the slower, punchier “Hot Tramps”. Now THIS is the slower song I wanted Beach Slang to hit me with. Beach Slang in the past have proven to be able to pull a slower track off, and man oh man does this back that up. Some of these group harmonies go right through you and give “Hot Tramps” a truly epic sound. This one also has some of the albums most hypnotic passages, as James Alex repeats lyrics in almost mantra like fashion. When Beach Slang really hunker down, they can truly make timeless music, and “Hot Tramps” is the perfect example of that. Not to mention, it’s also one of the longer tracks Beach Slang has ever done, proving that they can do more than just 2 minutes power anthems (In my best Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza impression, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that”). While were on the topic of longer tracks, when I first saw the time-stamp for “The Perfect High”, I got worried. A Beach Slang Song thats four and a half minutes? While their entire first album practically was under 2 and a half minutes for each song? *shudders*. Fear not however, once again Beach Slang pulls this one off just as spectacularly. Following one of the more dull tracks on the album, “The Perfect High” is surprisingly very focused, and lyrically it has some of the most intriguing moments on the entire album. This one isn’t in any rush, it’s steady, and it doesn’t have a catchy hook to dominate. However, the guitar melodies have your back, and lyrically this is just way too interesting to pass up. Yes, the last 45 seconds is a little unnecessary but thats the least of my complaints. Then we have the truly amazing “Punks In A Disco Bar”, which starts off with one of the most anthemic guitar leads on the entire album, or probably of this entire year in general. This one isn’t as straightforward as other Beach Slang tracks, but there’s an epic feel to this one that truly can’t be beat. The chorus is timeless, the melodies are catchy, while it doesn’t give up any of the heaviness of earlier tracks here. “Punks In A Disco Bar” is literally everything I could have asked for from Beach Slang and more.
While there are a TON of super solid tracks here, I can’t help feeling that Beach Slang are just slacking and unfocused at the end of the day. Take for example the horrendous “Young Hearts”. From those jangly guitars at the intro I was super hopeful for this one. But to be honest as the track moves forward there is seriously no energy at all. Beach Slang have proven here as well as in the past that they can easily pull off a slower track. But this is just so bland. While the guitar melodies are fantastic, the vocals just come off bored here. Not to mention, “Young Hearts” is well over 4 minutes long, and for the first time I seriously couldn’t wait for a Beach Slang track to be over. Finally, we have the disappointing finale “Warpaint”. This one has the attitude down pact, but my major problem with “Warpaint” is it’s placement on the album. Finale’s are supposed to be either epic or winding down in my book. “Warpaint” is chock full of buildup to absolutely nothing. If “Warpaint” was place before one of this album’s more anthemic tracks, it would have been totally viable, probably even epic. However, it’s not. It’s literally used as buildup to nothing, and it drives me crazy on the inside. Plus it ends completely abruptly. But at the end of this day, “Warpaint” really kind’ve shows just how unfocused Beach Slang really is right now.
Rating:7.2/10
Give A Listen To: “Art Damage”, “Hot Tramps”, “Punks In A Disco Bar”, “The Perfect High”
Overall Thoughts: You know, with everything you hear about Beach Slang the past year this is a really telling album. Rumors of breakup and band tension and all of that really shows on here, harshly too. There are some truly amazing tracks throughout this album, but they're contrasted with these awkward afterthought's that make this album feel so incomplete.
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