Quiet Slang - Everything Matters But No One is Listening

Philly based Punks Beach Slang since arriving on the scene a few years ago, have really caused a lot of talk.  The first time I heard these guys, was on their "Who Would Ever Want Anything So Broken?" EP.  While this was only a 10 minute EP, this was filled with the energy and harmonies that Punk had been missing for years.  There was a major sense of nostalgia, with Beach Slang constantly saluting their heroes while also pummeling towards the future with a really great intensity.  Tracks like "Filthy Luck" and "Punk or Lust" absolutely stood out, and Beach Slang had my attention. Beach Slang furthered their sound later that year with the "Cheap Thrills on a Dead End Street" EP.  Now, while I personally like their first EP a little bit more, the sound of this second EP is miles better.  Tracks like the wild "American Girls and French Kisses" and the crunchy "Dirty Cigarettes" were just so nostalgic and intensely emotional.  It was obvious that Beach Slang still had a lot of room to grow, but I was so impressed with what I was hearing.  Then, of course, Beach Slang blew my mind completely with 2015's "The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us".  This album was short still.  But it was impactful, with one sing-a-long chorus after another, and endless energy.  Tracks like "Noisy Heaven" and "I Break Guitars" proved that Beach Slang was the melodic Punk band that I'd been craving for years, while tracks like "Dirty Lights" and "Hard Luck Kid" kept things lyrically short.   Dripping in nostalgia, well produced, and succinct, this album ruled.  But to this day I can't help but be a little disappointed with their 2016 album "A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings".  This album gave us great singles that may be the best songs they've ever written, like "Spin the Dial" and "Punks in a Disco Bar".  But at its core, this album wasn't nearly as catchy or ambitious.  The next time we heard from Beach Slang was with their 2016 Covers EP "HERE, I MADE THIS FOR YOU Volume 1).  Now, since Beach Slang had made a career of very nostalgic performances dripping in their own influences, I thought a covers EP was just what the doctor ordered.  But outside of a wild cover of Dramarama's "Anything Anything", this was a surprisingly tame collection of covers. Later that year they released another short EP of covers, and outside of a pretty decent cover of "Roadrunner", this wasn't much better.  Beach Slang returned with yet another EP in late 2017, but this one was a little different.  This one was under the brand of Quiet Slang and featured frontman James Alex doing Acoustic renditions of a few Beach Slang tunes and some covers.  Which on paper, really didn't sound like it would be too appealing to me.  But I actually found some of these covers and acoustic renditions to be really emotional and beautiful.  It wasn't perfect, but I was certainly interested.  And while I wasn't exactly expecting Beach Slang to go even further down this route, here we are with an entire album of Quiet Slang material.  Why am I so interested in this?  And NO, I didn't get a little teared up listening to this rendition of "Noisy Heaven", YOU did.  Let's chat.

(A personal favorite of mine!)

This album starts out with a rendition of “Bad Art & Weirdo Ideas”.  Now, this is not the introduction I wanted to hear at all.  Yes, this is the same damn version of this we heard last year on the first Quiet Slang project.  And while I don’t necessarily hate this version, I just think this wasn’t necessary to rehash.  Now, let’s talk about this version.  There are some very light, airy pianos and emotional strings, which, spoiler alert: don’t go away anytime soon.  It’s a beautiful track really and a totally fine alternate version that isn’t better or worse than it’s predecessor.  Which, once again, spoiler alert, you’re going to hear a lot of.  It’s pleasant and sweet, and certainly charming.  But did we really have to rehash this boys?  On the other hand, I actually can’t help but get totally swept up in “Noisy Heaven”.  This is one of my all-time favorite Beach Slang tunes, and this version is actually more emotional than the original.  Not only that, but these backing vocals making this almost a duet are actually seriously charming.  Not to mention, this is one of the tracks here that I feel like the strings are right at home.  Trust me, in the later moments, it’s not necessary.  But this one captures me, and I can’t help but get a little teary-eyed.   But as this album continues on, what do you know, we get another track that showed up on last year’s EP.  I’m talking about this version of “Future Mixtape for the Art Kids”.  Which I know, it shouldn’t be a big deal.  But I just feel like there are tons of other Beach Slang tunes I wish I could have heard reimagined.  It’s still a very sweet and delicate tune though.  The piano’s are triumphant, and James’s performance is just so passionate.  But why do I feel like this is so cheap?  It’s pleasant listening the first time, however.  On the other hand, “Filthy Luck” is a totally different animal.  The fact that this was recorded in the same sessions is mind-boggling because THIS is an absolutely brilliant rendition.  Like, I absolutely LOVE just how intense this version is and how passionate the playing is.  It’s so in your face, while on the ears it continues to be light and pleasant.  If I heard more renditions like THIS I would have so much more faith in this project.

“Dirty Cigarettes” is up next, and once again, I can’t be mad with this rendition.  While still whisper quiet, some of these tunes make up for that with just how intense James’s performances are.  This one is determined, and easily one of the more gruffer sounding tracks here.  Sure, there’s still plenty of strings, so if you haven’t been into this album yet, this isn’t changing anything.  But for me, socially this is certainly more interesting than early tunes.  The back and forth vocals, the whisper quiet instrumentals, I love this alternate version.  Now, up to this point, I haven’t really hated anything on this album.  At the very worst, a track I would feel like “hey I would much rather listen to the original”.  But this alternate version of “Too Late to Die Young” absolutely sucks.  This was a stripped down, acoustic tune to begin with, so this version is seriously unnecessary.  And while I wasn’t nuts about the original tune, I feel like I at least appreciated it for what it was.  This version is painful to listen to, and not nearly as emotional or heartfelt as the original.  So, no, I’m not into this at all.  Like, there have been a few snoozers here, but this is BAD.  But for a straight up beautiful tune, it really doesn’t get much better than this.  I wouldn’t say this is nearly as intense or even as emotional.  But James here took one of his biggest, best performances ever, and made it even more tender and endearing.  When James gets this sound to work, it really pops unbelievably.  It’s heartfelt, and James really hasn’t sounded better on this entire project.  But still, does this project need to even be an entire album.  But on the other hand, tracks like “Young Hearts” are just so boring.  Of all of the tracks to remake, I swear some of James’s choices are hilariously bad.  This track isn’t passionate, heartfelt or anthemic.  This is just boring.  And when I hear things like this, I can’t shake but be pissed.  Sure, there are some genuinely interesting renditions here.  But everything about this “album” could have easily been deluxe album extras or another short EP. 

By this point in the album, it’s almost getting to the point that if you enjoy the original versions of these tracks, then you’ll probably enjoy these new versions.  “Throwaways” is another pleasant rendition, with sweet violins and some very nice pianos which do a solid job of filling in this tracks killer riff.  But the backing vocals on this one for me are slightly unnecessary, just a little bit.  But still, this track is solid.  But for me, this finale of “Warpaint” is certainly isn’t doing anything for me.  This album is a ridiculously mixed bag.  I wasn’t that much of a fan of this tune, to begin with.  While I do love how charming this track is, that’s just about all of it.  This isn’t nearly as charming as other tunes here, and if it wasn’t for how emotional and endearing James’s performance was, this track would have NOTHING. 

Rating: 6.6/10




Give A Listen To: "Noisy Heaven", "Filthy Luck", "Dirty Cigarettes", "Spin The Dial"




Least Favorite Track: "Too Late To Die Young"




Genre: Chamber Pop / Acoustic 




Overall Thoughts:  Beach Slang come through with one of the biggest mixed bags of an album you'll hear all year.  This album, as you probably know, is a serious of very sweet, charming reinterpretations of early Beach Slang tunes.  Which on paper, and from a distance sounds great.   Because let me tell you, when this album works, it works great.  There are tracks on here that are even more emotional and heartfelt than the original versions.  But there are just as many reinterpretations here that are putting me to sleep just thinking about them.  This album simply put, did not have to be an entire album.  "Quiet Slang" is a sweet idea James, but you obviously don't have enough ideas to make an entire album out of this.