Who says Saturdays are not for learning? This weekend I learnt two important things: Number one, that at Green Door Store when attending a sold out show – be sure you put on plenty of deodorant because boy, does it get hot. Number two, Beach Slang are one of the most down to earth, charismatic bands that I have ever had the fortune of seeing and they blew a little hole in my mind, for sure.
Beach Slang are a four piece punk band hailing from Philadelphia, PA. Their music is fast, abrasive and as downright catchy as the common cold. Choruses swell with character, they demand mass audience sing-alongs and their recent album release, The Things We Do to Find People Who Feel Like Us, screams of post-twenties nostalgia. It’s important to understand though, the nostalgia doesn’t arrive in a corny, try-hard fashion but it genuinely resonates with everybody in this room. It’s hard to completely nail down why, but I think it largely comes down to the personable way they present themselves. The Things We Do […] is packed with anthemic choruses, taking all the best parts from The Replacements and tying it in with the likes of Hüsker Dü and contemporary topics. Take for example ‘Throwaways’ and ‘Bad Art and Weirdo Ideas’, here you can see exactly why the tempo and melodic choruses lend for blissful optimism.
Taking to the stage at around half nine to joyous, danceable soul music – Beach Slang erupted into the aforementioned ‘Throwaways’ which instantly had plastic beer glasses thrust upwards in unison from the sold out crowd. Frontman, James Alex greeted the crowd, lifting his bottle of Hobgoblin to the stars and declaring his love and admiration for Brighton – from here he yelled: “There’s two things I love in the world; those being American Girls and French Kisses” – it was time for another hit. ‘American Girls and French Kisses’ sits tightly on the band’s debut EP compilation Broken Thrills, and is yet another that yearns for hedonistic, drunken nights with friends – smuggling drugs into parties and making the most of youth. Dynamics within the chorus beg for the crowd to join in with vocals as Alex beckons their invitation to sing along.
From an audience’s point of view, it is not only the live music you get at a Beach Slang gig, but you get everything from comedy to karaoke and beyond. John Lennon impressions were thrown around by the uncannily looking Jack Black guitarist, Reuben. Ad-libs are voiced in unison with each member taking part at mocking one another in a tongue-in-cheek fashion. It is this type of fraternal image that really strikes a chord – it is so refreshing to see that this brotherly, friendship image has not become lost in egos. Down to earth musicians are becoming harder and harder to find, but you can’t help but warm to a band that do everything in their power to involve you. Hits such as ‘Filthy Luck’ utilise such vast and captivating guitar hooks – the songs practically sing for themselves with Alex outlining each in his gravelly, rasping voice. Arguably the biggest Beach Slang song comes in the form of ‘Dirty Cigarettes’ – a song that hangs perfectly on a single bended note at the start of each run round. It’s this simplistic ability to make something sound huge that acts as the staple point of Beach Slang’s selling point. It’s fantastic, it really is. Green Door Store by this point is completely in the palm of their hands.
Continuing in the comedic vein, the crowd are treated to a short interlude with an Irish comedian – mocking jokes were thrust around in a light-hearted humour – Catholicism, alcoholism and straight edgers are all given a slight poke before Beach Slang return to close the night off. Quick fire songs in the form of ‘Punk or Lust’ and ‘Too Late to Die Young’ are given quick airings. ‘Too Late to Die Young’ leans on Beach Slang’s more tender side, the fast theatrics are instead swapped demonstrating that their are two sides to this story. ‘Punk or Lust’ brings things back up to speed however, with its loud-quiet-loud structure and pummelling bass thrusting away like some relentless mule.
Ultimately what really struck me about Beach Slang, adding so much sentiment to the gig, was how fantastically relatable the music is. It is the most fun I have had at a gig in such a long time. It was everything that I was lead to believe punk gigs were – from a young age I became more and more disillusioned with this sense of freedom and unison between audiences and bands, thinking it was a dying image that had fallen prey to egos. Take the title of the Beach Slang album and it all makes sense – the things we do to find people who feel like us? Well, if you’re looking for the answer, find yourself down at the next Beach Slang gig and it will all become apparent. Oh, don’t worry, they promised they would always end their tour at Brighton from now on. Thank goodness for that.
Tom Churchill
Website: beachslang.com
Facebook: facebook.com/beachslang
Twitter: twitter.com/beachslang