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A tight alt-rock trio influenced by the likes of Nada Surf and Death Cab For Cutie, The Slang hail from Washington D.C., but they pride themselves on recording each release in a different city/studio in a valiant attempt to capture the feel or mood of that specific location. Their latest EP, Desperate Times was recorded last year at Buzzlounge Studio in Beltsville, Marlyland outside of D.C., and it has a tougher, leaner feel than some of their previous releases. Yet their keen sense of melodicism remains joyfully in tact, and these five songs are some of the band’s strongest so far.
“Back to the Past” is, perhaps, the best example of the band’s ability to effortlessly combine this pop sensibility with an anxious post-punk angularity. But The Slang manages deftly to occasionally drift off into territory more akin to dream pop with the beautiful “Harm,” and in every song there are moments, if only brief, of restrained contemplation. If there’s a fault at all here, it’s that the EP feels like it should have been fleshed out to a full-length, but fans, for better or for worse, will have to settle for the satisfyingly alluring five songs the band did produce.
