About a year and a half ago, Beach Slang came out of (seemingly) nowhere and dropped the first of two EPs that would prove to be some of the best punk rock of 2014. But the Philadelphia foursome’s chief songwriter, James Snyder, is hardly a rookie, with roots that go back to the early 90s with Pennsylvania pop-punk band Weston. Still, Beach Slang’s debut full-length is full of so much youthful energy that they make younger bands sound world-weary by comparison.
You can hear that Snyder has seen some shit in his rough delivery. It’s also clear, though, that the album is full of the kind of resilient spirit that bends but never breaks. It’s a near-constant barrage of fist-pumpers built to fight back the sunrise, from the opening pummel of Throwaways to the Replacements-indebted pop power of closer Dirty Lights.
Sometimes similar energies make the songs bleed together, but in a good way. The main, and most important demand that The Things We Do… makes, to quote Too Late To Die Young, is to “turn your heart up, baby.” Best to push it to 11.
Top track: Too Late To Die Young
Beach Slang play the Dance Cave on November 23.
