Beach Slang - Cheap Thrills on a Dead End Street

James Snyder of Weston, JP Flexner of Ex-Friends and Ed McNulty, formerly of Nona, currently of Crybaby, have another band they like to flex their muscles on: Beach Slang, and following on from their debut EP earlier this year they return to the fold once more with Cheap Thrills on Dead End Street, their new four-track EP.  

The songs are immediate, personified by fiery opener ‘All Fuzzed Out’, three-minutes of quick-fire rapid guitar, bass and drums competing with each other for your attention, all seated in the sounds of punk rock and DC hardcore. Snyder’s deeply sneering and sinister vocal delivery cuts to the chase, reminiscent of Scott McCloud of Girls Against Boys fame. It’s bouncy, foot tapping but I can’t help thinking it’s nothing new to my well worn ears.

At times they threaten to be a Touch and Go band or an SST one but their sound is far too clean and mainstream to be a part of those influential and highly regarded labels, (see ‘Dirty Cigarettes’).  They lack a bit of grit and grime and instead lie between Blink 182 and the indie-rock of Surfer Blood.

It’s a tried and tested formula that Beach Slang work to, but it really needs more punch and vigour to light significant fires.