Jake Ewald’s tales are virtually by no means true. Not utterly. As the first songwriter and frontman for Slaughter Beach, Dog, Ewald is constant in his skill to refract his life by the prism of expertise exterior of his personal, to whisper down the lane that’s collective existence till commentary turns into its personal type of empathy.
There are occasions, although, when the membranes skinny and a bit extra of the reality is allowed to shine by; a quiet present in a packed church in Philadelphia, the second the wheels begin to rattle as you and your band flip down the homestretch of an eight-minute single, when an icon and hero calls to speak about your oldest lyrics. Ewald does his greatest to see these flashes for what they’re: a deep breath, pleasure, a second to recede. His music has all the time tried to grapple with the whole thing of expertise, and, as its identify suggests, Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling isn’t any totally different, however there’s rather less management this time round, a bit extra belief, resulting in among the greatest songs Slaughter Beach, Dog have ever produced.
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Ewald’s story begins again within the early a part of final decade, when he and Bren Lukens began Modern Baseball, a totem of 2010s emo that, amongst different issues, helped delivery the Philadelphia label Lame-O Records and set up town as a hotbed of DIY success. Sports stays the excessive level of that a part of Ewald’s profession, a heartfelt, wordy, and tightly coiled album that continues to search out new followers a decade on.
Right across the time Modern Baseball known as it quits, Ewald started releasing music as Slaughter Beach, Dog (an homage to the Delaware shore level of the identical identify). This marked not solely a change of identify for Ewald however a reasonably distinct distinction within the type of songwriting he was taken with. Where Modern Baseball are all frayed nerve endings and late-night confessions, Slaughter Beach, Dog displayed extra direct literary ambitions, his first LP taking the type of a pseudo-concert report. “I had literally only ever written songs about things that had happened to me,” Ewald instructed Atwood Magazine a few years again. “When I wrote the songs on Welcome, it was definitely an exercise in creating a universe and inhabiting that universe. It was kind of like a challenge that I set for myself.”
When I spoke with Ewald not too long ago over Zoom, we talked lots about this type of shifting perspective, and the way necessary it’s to him each inside his personal work and the artwork and storytelling he greatest responds to. “By writing from different perspectives, I just make a lot of personal discoveries because I’m forcing myself to think in a way that I would not normally think,” he says. Of course, even that has shifted over time. His method could also be much less direct on early Slaughter Beach, Dog data like Welcome and Birdie, however they have been rooted within the type of experiences a younger man residing in a metropolis like Philadelphia may encounter. “My pals do not want jobs/‘Cause they all sell drugs/And spend their Fridays setting fire with their college degrees,” Ewald sings on Welcome cut “Jobs.” Birdie standout “Acolyte” picks at similar scabs (“Man, it cuts like a dull knife/When you’re younger and also you’re instructed/“It is sensible while you’re older”/Darling, let’s get previous”).
2019’s Safe And Also No Fear marks a turning level in that regard. Not solely do Slaughter Beach, Dog sand down the punkier edges of their sound, however they’re intent on mining darker corners of their psyche. “I remembered that around the time of SAANF, I was obsessed with the idea of Serious Art, and being perceived as a serious artist who could tell serious stories,” Ewald wrote not too long ago in his publication Pause For Effect. Songs like “Black Oak,” an almost seven-minute homicide ballad, are fairly removed from the jilted lovers and lonely losers of his work on Modern Baseball, stretching exterior of non-public expertise for one thing grander. That stated, Ewald can’t assist however giggle a bit in any respect that self-serious gloom. While he definitely doesn’t disown any of these songs, he does have a look at issues a bit in another way now, aiming to mix emotional depth with one thing extra pure on Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling. “We were able to express ourselves in a way that didn’t feel contrived or like we were trying to climb Mount Everest,” he says.
I first bought an opportunity to listen to chunk of the report final December when Ewald performed an acoustic present alongside bandmate Adam Meisterhans at First Unitarian Church, a Philadelphia venue of much regard. In that house, with its lined pews, delicate lighting, and huge sound, the songs got here throughout as simply that: pure, unaffected, and, at occasions, genuinely humorous. “Sister In Jesus Christ”’s many asides embody meathead baseball gamers, BDSM, My Chemical Romance shirts, and a cheddar and spinach omelet, its jaunty stream completely consistent with its subject material. Also evident throughout this hour-plus set was how a lot that laid-back sound comes from Ewald’s always-shifting listening habits.
The days of basement exhibits and sweaty mosh pits may not be absolutely behind him, however he’s definitely welcoming a rootsier, extra homespun palette into the band’s sound. Covering each Townes Van Zandt and Blaze Foley, pillars of outlaw nation, may not be one thing you’ll be able to think about from Modern Baseball however very a lot feels just like the logical evolution for this model of Slaughter Beach, Dog. If their glorious 2020 report, At The Moonbase, was their boozy, Stones-inspired romp, that is their exploration of what occurs when John Wesley Harding meets Lucinda Williams. This is heard most readily in a track like “Summer Windows,” a lazy, finger-picked stroll down the alleys of remorse and longing. “I felt like I was finally beginning to understand the melodic and lyrical phrasing that is more in line with a lot of the folk-rock and country stuff that I was listening to,” Ewald says. “I had been internalizing those forms a lot more than I realized.”
This development shouldn’t be solely logical however, when you consider it, fairly inevitable. Sure, you’ll be able to inform tales inside each musical framework, however when contemplating the arc of Ewald’s profession, you’ll be able to’t think about it ending up wherever however alongside these folky masters of the vignette. “My favorite thing about trying to write from different perspectives is that it creates the opportunity for surprise,” Ewald says when our dialogue as soon as once more turned towards the significance he locations on discovering new methods into the human expertise. “The coolest part is that whenever it clicks, and I’m deep enough in the world, I might stumble upon something that I would not have thought of.”
Ewald’s purpose might need been to discover a manner out of his personal head lyrically, however, whether or not he meant to or not, this largely prolonged to the report musically as effectively. There is, to place it bluntly, much less Ewald on this report than another within the band’s catalog. He will all the time be a verbose songwriter, however there are much more situations of him receding into the background than ever earlier than. And it is sensible. At The Moonbase was, by and enormous, a solo endeavor, made throughout COVID-19 and written and recorded principally by himself. Perhaps because of the circumstances, this was additionally his most micro-managed pursuit. Ewald would report and re-record in quest of perfection in a manner that grew to become exhausting.
The reins have been loosened considerably this time round, lending itself to the ramshackle sound the band have been capable of produce. “A lot of times when I’ve made records, it felt like trying to put together a puzzle or do math,” Ewald says. “This one just felt way more comfortable. We just settled into this groove that was more relaxed and more open and free in a lot of ways.” When requested how he, because the chief of the band, can work to create this ambiance, he provides a solution that’s revelatory in its simplicity. “The way for me to encourage that was to just sit back and let everything happen. It’s a humbling thing to realize that if I just shut up for five minutes, they can make something really, really good.”
Ewald could also be downplaying his personal contributions, however it is very important be aware how unbelievable his band sounds enjoying behind him. Part of that’s familiarity. Bassist Ian Farmer has been enjoying with Ewald since Modern Baseball days, and multi-instrumentalist Zack Robbins, keyboardist Logan Roth, and guitarist Meisterhans appear completely in tune with what Ewald is reaching for. Then there’s the newcomer, vocalist Erin Rae, who’s, in her personal proper, an exquisite songwriter and contributes backing vocals and harmonies to just about each track on Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling.
Ewald all the time knew he wished one other vocalist on the report, and when Meisterhans launched him and Rae, the match felt fairly excellent. “It was a total breeze, and I feel like she really tied the record together in a cool way,” Ewald says, who appears blown away by the convenience of the entire course of. “I didn’t even have specific things I wanted Erin to do, but I had a feeling that she would have the right ideas.” Even as a relative outsider, Rae was stunned by how laid again the recording ambiance was. “Their studio space is so cool. I think that made such a difference, how comfortable and relaxed it all was,” says Rae. This all comes collectively on a track like “Float Away,” the catchiest track on the report and among the finest the band’s ever written. It’s the type of easy, timeless tune you’ll be able to think about wafting from highway-bound automotive home windows or snaking its manner by patio furnishings for years to return, and it isn’t one thing Slaughter Beach, Dog might have written prior to now.
“Every record is about growing up — we all have to get a little older before we make the next one.” Those are the phrases of Craig Finn, songwriter and frontman for the Hold Steady, they usually come on the finish of the bio he wrote for Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling. Ewald nonetheless can’t fairly imagine how this all got here to move. He’s been a fan of Finn and his songwriting for years, but it surely was upon listening to that the sensation was mutual that Ewald thought he may be taken with writing one thing about Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling. What resulted is a winding, conversational exploration of what it means to be a definite songwriter in a band, one thing they each know lots about.
I requested Ewald particularly concerning the concept of rising up and whether or not he thought of this report a testomony to the expansion of him and his band. He stated he hadn’t, actually, until he learn these phrases from Finn, however identifies one particular second that would have by no means occurred if not for the years the band have spent collectively. Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling is anchored by “Engine,” an almost nine-minute track that weaves tales of stolen vans, countless excursions, and existential angst amongst sun-cracked guitar solos and honey-slide jam-outs.
Ewald’s preliminary demo for the track was barely half that size, however every time they performed it, the band let it stretch and breathe. They discovered new life within the glove field and inspiration stuffed between the seats, relinquishing management, easing the foot off the break. “It’s an amazing reminder of the things that you can do with music,” Ewald says. “And the only reason it exists the way that it does now is because we let it come into its own. You have to create the kind of vessel for it to live inside of — you have to make that space for it.” If Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling is that vessel, Slaughter Beach, Dog have stuffed it to the brim.
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