Beach Slang “Broken Thrills”

This is Philadelphia three piece, Beach Slang’s first release here in the UK and is actually a compilation of earlier releases. They are described enticingly as “part punk, part pop and all catharsis, referencing the ghost of The Replacements but keeping one foot firmly rooted in the present”.

Indeed, the first thing that you will think of when you hear the opening number “Filthy Luck” is The Replacements. It has that perfect blend of scuzzy punk guitar playing a secretly beautiful melody. The same could also be said of “Kids” (Once you get over the fact that the opening drum fill will give you Suede’s ‘The Drowners’ as an ear worm!).

The other band that Beach Slang will inevitably draw comparisons to is The Gaslight Anthem. This is appropriate, not only in terms of the punk sound of songs like “All Fuzzed Out”, but also in the lyrical style. “Get Lost” in particular has the same storytelling, young American’s tale that is favoured by Brian Fallon. Indeed, “American Girls & French Kisses” is very much the story of a ‘jukebox Romeo’. The titling of one of the songs as “Punk or Lust” is very apt as their music is certainly punk but with a greater sense of belief and hope and even possibly love (but it’s probably cooler to express it as lust!).

This is a great release and will certainly have you thinking that these EPs will be Beach Slang’s ‘Sink or Swim’ i.e. a release that in years to come will be sought out by die hard fans. The songs are full of passion and vibrancy. Over a full album there will naturally come a desire to expand the sound but hopefully not at the expense of the excitement that these songs retain. At the moment, they have the perfect blend of punk and melody, so there is no need to change that combination.