Slaughter Beach, Dog – Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling

Review Score:

B

September 21 / 2023

Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling’s release date was, intentionally or not, cleverly set to align with the start of fall. With their newest release, Slaughter Beach, Dog return with what could be their most musically consistent and cohesive album yet. Jake Ewald leans into a bluesy sound, which is more than a natural fit for the band. When I first heard the title of the album, I was excited for it to emulate its namesake, Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying by the great Labi Siffre. That album is an excellent piece of gentle folk and I highly recommend it. “Cannock Chase” is a perfect tune.

The collection of songs gathered here do tend towards blurring into one another, unfortunately. The stand out tracks were the singles, with “Strange Weather” and “Float Away” being my personal standouts. Even when the tracks don’t stand out musically, the lyrical songwriting still impresses. Ewald has a knack for painting these classic, bittersweet scenes. “Bobcat Club”, for example, is a somber, honest slice of life reminiscent of a classic folk song. Think Townes Van Zandt, who is directly named in “Summer Windows”. 

The album in general feels less personal than the band’s previous work. For me, this doesn’t have the same longevity for me as, say, “At the Moonbase”. I’d also say that none of these songs hit the same highs as the previous record. But these aren’t necessarily slights against it. I can’t argue that the execution of this sound isn’t done well. I think if I was sitting on the beach at sunset, or around a campfire with my feet up, this album would act as the ideal soundtrack.

Review Score:

B

Gubb wrote this review. You can’t get mad at Gubb.