Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling is the latest addition to the Slaughter Beach, Dog canon, following four full-length releases and a handful of singles, EPs and live albums. Since his days as one of the frontmen of the much loved and critically adored band Modern Baseball, Ewald has been a prolific songwriter and road dog, with an ever-expanding fanbase across the globe.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Ewald moved from Philadelphia, his home of a decade, to a house in the Poconos. With less distractions and a calmer mind, he filled his time taking long walks and listening to the likes of Neil Young, Randy Newman and Tom Waits. These classic songwriters inspired Ewald to take a quintessential approach to writing Crying, Laughing, Waving, Smiling and in July 2022, he gathered his bandmates at The Metal Shop, their longtime studio in Philadelphia. Ewald showed them songs he had written over the past two years on an acoustic guitar and the band played what they were hearing for each – emphasizing the instinctual, listening to each other, and above all adding parts to serve the song. Nashville indie folk songwriter Erin Rae lends her vocals to the songs as well, imbuing them with her rich harmonies.