Slaughter Beach, Dog crafts expansive melancholia on ‘Fish Fry’

In February, after the release of their most recent album ‘Holy Ghost’, Modern Baseball’s Jake Ewald announced in a lengthy, heartfelt statement that the band would be taking a hiatus.

Fans of Modern Baseball didn’t have to lament too long though, and not just because they’re playing a trio of gigs in Philly next month. Indeed, a couple of months on from announcing their break, Jake re-emerged under the name Slaughter Beach, Dog and released an EP of work, ‘Motorcycle.jpg’. This week he’s even rounding off a trio of shows in the UK. On 27th October though, he’ll be releasing his album ‘Birdie’ on Big Scary Monsters/ Lame-O Records.

Speaking of the process of writing the record, Jake said: “When I gave myself the specific goal to write these kinds of songs and figure out how to do it, it just broke me open in a way I really needed”. The album itself is set to expand on the template set by ‘Motorcycle.jpg’ as well as seeing Jake push and challenge his own personal musical limits.

His new track ‘Fish Fry’ is a perfect example of what he’s setting out to achieve with ‘Birdie’. What starts out as a gentle, contemplate riff soon builds with driving riffs and propulsive beats, flourishing with minor chords and changing tones. It builds a soundscape that’s beautifully and expansively melancholic, nodding to Modern Baseball’s traits but standing on its own two feet. Throw Jake’s own meditative voice and knack for weaving a good narrative into the mix, and it all makes for one very tasty combination.

Get the first spin of ‘Fish Fry’ below.