Album Review: Beach Slang - A Loud Bash Of Teenage Feelings

Beach Slang's second album is one of those rare pieces that fully reflects its title. The music is a loud bash of teenage feelings. It promises, it delivers.

Firstly, brownie points must be given for the thematic song titles: with names like Future Mixtape For The Art Kids and Punks In A Disco Bar, we're promised, on first glance, a few short minutes of angsty, bashy skater-punk. While the genre itself doesn't lend itself to many musical dynamics or particular shifts in style, Beach Slang do it well.

Atom Bomb deserves a special mention with the lo-fi vocals and scuzzy guitar riffs. The Philadelphia outfit's catchy riffs continue into Spin The Dial, a definite highlight of the album in its potential to become a festival anthem. The album reaches its crescendo with Hot Tramps, before toning down the angst (slightly) and rounding off the lyrical content with broken hearts, sex, drugs and rock'n'roll.

Young Hearts is a sunset in song form, the melancholic guitar riffs complementing the growly vocals and driving drumbeat. It transforms into The Perfect High, an ode to completely effing yourself up on illicit substances and sharing your otherworldly experiences with your one true love.

Perhaps most importantly, there's definite potential for those feelings of teen angst to develop and mature into more complex commentaries on the world as a whole. Beach Slang have done what they do best, and paved themselves a yellow brick road into the future.