The last year has proven to be extremely significant for Philadelphia’s Beach Slang. Just one year after releasing their debut full length The Things We Do to Find People Who Feel Like Us, the band has emerged from the over-saturated underground punk scene as cult heroes with a committed following in their wake. A break up scare as well as the subsequent loss of a drummer have not proven to hinder their momentum as they return with a brilliant sophomore record barely a year after their last.

With A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings, Beach Slang return to their blend of shoegaze-tinged punk. Poppy enough for the uninitiated, yet hard-hitting and honest enough for the purists of the genre, the group hit their mark perfectly. Beguiling melody and earth shaking distortion are seamlessly intertwined within anthems such as the infectious ‘Atom Bomb’ and the solemn ‘Young Hearts’.

Brimming with aggressive romanticism, James Alex’s lyrics deal thematically with teenage nostalgia; overall his lyricism gives the album a true pathos, avoiding the sense of cringeness that plagues other albums of a similar theme. While not much of a sonic evolution has occurred since Beach Slang’s last album, the consistency of their high-grade song writing elevates the album to greater heights. That being said, the record has benefitted from a tighter production job then the band’s debut, giving it a rich soundscape and allowing the shoegazing to feel immersive, while not drowning out the heavier punk elements.

A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings sits as a worthy sequel to its predecessor, and in the process cements Beach Slang’s status as one of the most exciting collectives to come from the underground in recent times. Expect big things to come from this band.

Tim Wilson