Headed To The Beach

Welcome back to Finetuned! Time for an absolute banger of a band this week. This is a really incredible musician, and the rec is one of my favorite emo-adjacent albums. This week we are chatting about Slaughter Beach, Dog. Let’s get into it! ❤

Slaughter Beach, Dog is an indie rock and folk-rock project founded by Jake Ewald in 2014 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ewald, best known as one of the two songwriters in the emo band Modern Baseball, started the project sort of as a creative outlet to explore new storytelling forms and break away from the emotional (but stylistic) intensity of his main band. What began as a solo venture, marked by early releases like Dawg and Motorcycle.jpg, gradually evolved into a full band effort. Over time, the lineup has included Ian Farmer, Zack Robbins, Adam Meisterhans, and Logan Roth, all of whom have contributed to the project’s textured, intimate sound.

The ethos of Slaughter Beach, Dog lies in detailed storytelling, emotional realism, and a rejection of flash for sincerity. While Modern Baseball often focused on Ewald’s personal perspective, Slaughter Beach, Dog embraces character-driven narratives and quiet, observational songwriting. It is sort of this warming hug of a sound. The project embodies a sense of patience and introspection, turning these small, mundane moments into subtle explorations of human connection. Even as the band expanded and toured extensively, they’ve retained a distinctly independent spirit and a devotion to writing songs that feel personal and lived-in.

Musically, Slaughter Beach, Dog blends elements of indie rock, folk, alt-country, and understated emo sensibility. The band’s sonic palette truly revolves around very warm acoustic guitars, this beautiful & gentle percussion, occasional slide guitar, organ flourishes, and subdued electric tones. Their production often feels quite organic and intimate, prioritizing the atmosphere and lyricism over heavy layering. Vocally, and as per usual, Ewald’s delivery is soft and conversational.

With Birdie (2017), Slaughter Beach, Dog refined their sound into something quieter and more deliberate. The album’s textures are built around acoustic and electric guitar interplay, with soft drum brushes, pedal steel guitar, and atmospheric touches that provide warmth and depth. The arrangements are disproportionately patient, truly each song feels handcrafted, guided by tone and emotion rather than flash or immediacy. The melodies are also simply immaculate.

Lyrically, Birdie is steeped in reflective storytelling, populated by characters, late-night thoughts, and scenes from small American towns. The album moves away from confessional songwriting toward empathetic observation with songs about love, isolation, and quiet persistence. Ewald writes in vignettes: lives half-remembered, relationships in still motion, and small, meaningful exchanges. The result is deeply human. His lyrics sound like journal entries from someone both in and out of the world he describes.

Thanks for reading here, Finetuners! I do hope you all have enjoyed this week’s Finetuned. I’d appreciate any insights, admiration, or otherwise. You can email me here: [email protected].

Please do share Finetuned with your friends & fam & whoever else! I believe great music should be shared, cherished, and understood from all sorts of perspectives.

See you all in the next one! 🙌

^{(Sources: Wikipedia · Pitchfork – Birdie Review · WUOG – Birdie Review · KTSW – Birdie Review · DGO Magazine – Birdie Review · Album of the Year – Birdie · Third Coast Review – Live Context}