Introducing Interview: Beach Slang

Fresh from a US tour with Cursive, and labelled as “best new band of the year” by Noisey, it would seem things are going pretty well for Philadelphia three-piece, Beach Slang. Having just put out their first UK release, and about to embark on a European tour, Beach Slang deliver energy-fuelled, fuzzy pop-punk that should not be ignored. We caught up with the band to find out more…

Hi! How are you, and what have you been up to this week?
At the moment, amazingly impatient. I’ve been prepping to leave for our first ever European tour. And I’m hardly any good at waiting. Really, I have no luck with pacing things. I really am just a big, dumb explosion of excitability. And you?

We’re good thanks! You’ve recently voyaged on a full-scale U.S tour with Cursive, how did you find it?
At fear of sounding dreadfully sappy, it was four of the best weeks of my whole life.

You’re also heading out to tackle some dates in Europe and the U.K for the first ever time – nervous or excited?
I guess I kind of stepped on this in question one, but I suppose some really hyper blend of both. The two tend to make really great mates. Meaning, they both remind you that you’re alive.

How would you summarise yourselves to people who have never seen you guys before?
Clumsy, loud and charming: well-mannered, but dirty hair.

You’ve been gaining a lot of praise, with the likes of Noisey hailing you as ‘the best new band of the year’. How does that feel?
More pretend than real, you know? I don’t know. In my head, I think I’ll always feel like the not-quite-good-enough kid. That stuff sounds very glass-half-empty, I know, but I dig the humility and hunger that comes with it. I suppose, in some ways, I never really want to be completely satisfied. Good art was meant to be a fighter.

There are undoubtedly various elements within your music, but who do you consider as your main influences?
Just a bit ago, someone asked me “who are some of the bands that have informed your writing” and I said this: Paul Westerberg and Charles Bukowski. His books, Westerberg’s records – man, in some really surreal, weirdo world, that’s what I’m chasing. Also, Stephin Merritt said this thing about there being only two types of music that matter: pop and avant garde. That’s always stuck with me.

What can you tell us in regards to your first ever UK release?
It’s called Broken Thrills and, really, it’s a single release of our two American EPs. Side one is EP1 (Who Would Ever Want Anything So Broken?– Dead Broke Rekerds 2014) and side two is EP2 (Cheap Thrills On A Dead End Street– Tiny Engines 2014). Big Scary Monsters pressed all eight songs into the most beautiful vinyl. And I think the physical record just came out yesterday. I’m wildly flipped out about the whole deal.

Are there any other current bands you’re enjoying listening to at the minute?
I’m usually super stuck in the records I grew up with, but  lately I’ve been digging Night Flowers, Westkust and See Through Dresses.

What’s your favourite part about being a musician?
Having a soft place to tuck all this good restlessness.

What else can we expect from Beach Slang throughout the rest of the year?
A few weeks after we get home from Europe, we are recording our first full-length. It’ll be released on Polyvinyl in the fall. And I could not be more revved up about a thing. Yeah, then touring and writing and getting into good trouble. Just how it’s meant to be.

Thanks so much to Beach Slang for answering our questions! 

Broken Thrills is out now via Big Scary Monsters, and you can catch Beach Slang live:

May 

9 – Bristol, The Exchange
10 – Manchester, Tiger Lounge
11 – Kingston, Banquet Records (instore)
11 – Brighton, Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar
12 – London, The Stillery (free entry)

James Cummins

James Cummins

James Cummins

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