Beach Slang // The Things We Do

Beach Slang

The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us

Polyvinyl

4.5/5 stars

If you're a fan of earnest, anthemic punk rock, you're finally in luck. Philadelphia's Beach Slang have constructed a fist-pumping, heartfelt debut. Sure, their hearts feel eerily similar to the Replacements, but that's alright. This record has that strange combination of nostalgia and newness. Singer James Alex Snyder is a little older than the rest of the band, but he has a fire lit under him. He's preoccupied with concepts like life and youth (see: "Young and Alive"). The sound exists in a world fuzzier than early Gaslight Anthem, and folksier than later Japandroids. You get dynamic moments like "Too Late to Die Young," but mostly scorchers like "Bad Art and Weirdo Ideas." The album's title sets the tone far better than the band's misleadingly surfy name ever did. The Things We Do conjures up thoughts of finding that first real group of friends in the scene. Desperately navigating through new social groups, you eventually found what felt like a second family. In the ever-shrinking world of good punk rock, The Things We Do is a godsend. – Nick Warren