CREDIT: BECCA HAMEL
The Beaches dropped their latest album on Sept. 15.

On Sept. 15, The Beaches dropped their new album, Blame My Ex.

When I first heard about The Beaches, I never really gave it much thought to get into their music. My one friend, from Toronto, introduced me to them by showing me their song “Let’s Go” with Canadian artist Lights and that’s what put them on my radar.

The Beaches are an all-girl band from Toronto that has been jamming together since 2013.The band consists of sisters Jordan and Kylie Miller with friends Leandra Earl and Eliza Enman-McDaniel. They started to gain traction when they were chosen to open for Rock legend David Grohl and the Foo Fighters in 2017. The band also performed for the first time at the world-famous music festival, Lollapalooza, this past summer. They released their first studio album in 2017 and are now back again with another banger.


It wasn’t until this past summer when scrolling on TikTok that I reacquainted myself with the band’s sound, this time with new music. From that point forward, my For You page was flooded with new content featuring snippets of their new album Blame My Ex. When listening to a new song, the instrumental components always grasp my attention first and it all started with their first release, “Blame Brett.”

The sound of this particular song that caught my ear and interest was the guitar patterns, that bring a sense of nostalgia from the earlier 2000s. You can really see the talent come through with Kylie Miller’s musicianship and the simplistic yet symphonic chord progression which pairs perfectly with the bass and drums. All four members have some great moments throughout the album harmonizing, especially on the song “Everything is Boring.” The album as a whole is an easy listen as the overall feeling is very relaxed due to the coherence between the members which clearly translates into the final product of each song on the album.

Lyrically, this album really paints a solid feeling of what life feels like post break-up, and the one song that stood out the most to me was “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Paranoid.” It heavily emphasizes the patterns and habits people pick up in the aftermath of a break-up. The song talks about someone overthinking and becoming overwhelmed by a lonely reality that is foreign. Doubting the feeling of love existing, she tries seeking validation from other people or by changing her appearance as a fix to make herself feel happy.

What makes it stand out is the message it sends to the listener, as it acts as a parable they could follow if they ever find themselves in a similar situation. It says that if the voice at the back of your head is being annoying by telling you something you don’t want to hear, it’s best to trust your gut instinct and act on it as it’s a possible warning sign of a bad thing yet to come.

As sad as some of these songs can be, the album also features other songs that give off a nice summer feeling with some 50s surfer sounding riffs or more of a hip-hop vibe. This album serves as a great look into what this band has to offer. It surely goes as far to say that there aren’t just one or two good songs, but all of the songs are quite enjoyable and as a musician, I wouldn’t mind learning a couple.