Philadelphia’s Beach Slang are heading to Australia next month to perform at Splendour in the Grass in Byron Bay, headlined by James Blake, The Strokes, The Avalanches and more. The four-piece (three of which, James, Ed and JP, also play in bands Weston, Crybaby and Ex Friends respectively,) will also embark on a national tour as the main support act for fellow Splendour act Spring King.
The band released their debut album in October last year, titled The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us, which we can’t wait to see live next month. We wanted to get to know a bit more about the influences behind the band, so we asked vocalist and guitarist James Alex to share three albums that changed his life.
Singles Going Steady – The Buzzcocks
The first punk record I ever owned, that was ever really mine, was “Singles Going Steady” by the Buzzcocks. I Walkman-ed the hell out of that tape. Loud guitars, perfect melody, and almost too many hooks. I don’t know if they ever wrote a bad song. But, yeah, that’s what I was plugging into… that primal, weirdo, in-your-bones thing… just a kid feeling the feeling of feeling cool for the first time.
Dear You – Jawbreaker
I wanted to be a writer before I ever picked up a guitar. Jawbreaker was the first time I felt like you could be really loud and really raw and really soft and really poetic. It made me see you could slam all these weirdo feelings together, shove them into angst and make something tender and unashamed. That changed everything for me.
Sorry Ma, Forgot To Take Out The Trash – The Replacements
That urgency—man, I swear, it’s the whole reason I do the thing. I heard this and like, right away, the thought of screaming with a guitar felt like power, like a voice, like that thing I’d been looking for. It’s pretty beautiful what finds you when you feel the most lost.
Beach Slang will support Spring King on the following tour dates:
Wed 20 July: Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Sun 24 July: Corner Hotel, Melbourne