Slaughter Beach, Dog began as Jake Ewald’s solo project, a place for songs that didn’t make sense in his main gig Modern Baseball. Now that the seminal Philly emo band is up on blocks, Ewald has expanded Slaughter Beach, Dog into a full-fledged band of its own. The group now includes his Modern Baseball bandmate Ian Farmer plus Nick Harris of All Dogs and Zack Robbins of Superheaven, and this summer they’ll release a new album.

Safe And Also No Fear is out the first Friday in August. It’s billed as a swerve into darkness, and the album’s first two songs bear that out. Opening track “One Down” is a slow-build indie-folk ballad about aging into alienation, with anecdotes about staying out late getting loaded, eating alone at home, and curling up on the floor in an anxious ball. There’s also this killer line about a wistful visit to Ewald’s hometown: “The trees are bare/ I breathe the air/ I hold it down real deep before I let it out.” The second song, “Good Ones,” is a bit more upbeat, but it maintains the other tune’s pensive twilight vibe.

Both songs are tremendous, so check them out below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “One Down”
02 “Good Ones”
03 “Dogs”
04 “Black Oak”
05 “Petersburg”
06 “Tangerine”
07 “Heart Attack”
08 “One Day”
09 “Map Of The Stars”
10 “Anything

Safe And Also No Fear is out 8/2 on Lame-O Records. Pre-order it here.

CREDIT: Jess Flynn