Though originally a place for Jake Ewald to flex his writing muscle, the recent hiatus of his day job Modern Baseball means that Slaughter Beach, Dog has taken on a whole new form as a band. After last year’s debut ‘Welcome’, ‘Motorcycle.jpg’ is the next chapter in a story which is moving much faster than anticipated and that is in no way a bad thing.

There’s a particular breeziness to the four tracks that make up this swift and sour EP. What Jake has done with this project is create a world and a community where he and his characters and creations can exist without things becoming too personal. Sure, there’s an autobiographical tone to the lyrical content of the slow paced ‘Glowing’ and beautifully descriptive ‘Your Cat’, but compared to the brutally honest and hard to swallow direction that Modern Baseball often heads in this feels refreshing and vibrant.

Motorcycle.jpg by Slaughter Beach, Dog

It’s as if there’s no pressure for Jake to be anyone or anything in particular with this project. It feels like he is free to be who or whatever he wants and that feels as rewarding for the listener as it is for him. That’s not to say that these are in anyway positive slices of noise. ‘Building The Ark’ is a slow burning and touching ditty of dulcet tones and almost whispered vocals and ‘104 Degrees’ is as sultry as an acoustic led sad jam can possibly get.

‘Motorcycle.jpg’ is a beautiful snapshot of where Slaughter Dog, Beach are right now. With a new full length set to be out in the open by the end of the year, there feels like so much more to explore within this world that Jake has created and the prospect of that is very exciting indeed.

4/5

‘Motorcycle.jpg’ EP by Slaughter Beach, Dog is released on 14th July on Lame-O Records.

Slaughter Beach, Dog links: Website|Twitter|Bandcamp

Words by Jack Rogers (@JackMRog)