by Matt Kelchner

To wrap up their short tour with fellow Philadelphia natives Hurry, Beach Slang paid a visit to the PhilaMoca last Monday. The lineup for the evening featured an all Philly lineup that was rounded out with Ghost Gum and last minute add ons Crybaby. The show also celebrated a very special anniversary for Beach Slang as it marked a year since they came together. I don’t think it’s possible to have a cooler party for a one year old than that!

Mike Bell and the Movies were originally slated to open but ended up dropping off. Crybaby filled in but we unfortunately missed their set. Walking in as Ghost Gum started almost stopped us dead in our tracks. The soaring guitars laid over a warm bed of post punk sound quickly caught our attention as lead singer Carolyn’s vocals reminded us of the howling Marissa Paternoster of Screaming Females.

Pop specialists Hurry took the stage following Ghost Gum. The three piece, headed by Everyone Everywhere’s Matt Scottoline, played cuts from the Hurry catalogue. The crowd was also treated a few treats off Hurry’s upcoming new album. Mixed in with the songs was Scottoline’s witty and hilarious stage banter. All of this was wrapped up with their closing song, the infectious “Oh, Whitney”.

Despite being around for just one year, Beach Slang powered through their set last Monday night like a well-oiled machine. The crowd, full of fans, friends and family, cheered as they ripped through their two EPs, Who Would Ever Want Anything So Broken and Cheap Thrills On A Dead End Street. Singalongs were heard left and right as the crowd screamed along with lead singer James Snyder.

With their debut full length album (being released by Polyvinyl!) just around the corner, Beach Slang also threw in a handful of new songs as well. Mixed in towards the end was a flawless cover of Jawbreaker’s “Bad Scene, Everyone’s Fault”. The homecoming for the Philly four piece showed that the sky’s the limit for them. We will be sitting here, patiently waiting for their debut album. It can’t come soon enough!