The Beaches of Toronto: A Reflection of Their Music
The Beaches is a sleepy neighbourhood in East Toronto known for its detached Victorian houses, mowed lawns, and PTA meetings. Its proximity to a string of beaches inspired the area’s name, and by extension, the band that grew up there.
On the other hand, the band The Beaches are anything but sleepy. If Avril Lavigne played a Rolling Stones album, it still wouldn’t be quite as energetic as their live show, but the tone would be right. Since their debut album in 2017, their Girl-Band-Rock-Revival™ style has mixed classic rock instrumentals with upbeat pop-rock vibes that make you want to dance.
When the band dropped their first album Late Show in 2017, they struck gold sacrificing lyrical sensibility in favour of seizing the moment and the energy. “One by one and two by two / I want to rock to the beat and hurt my shoes” is simultaneously the most nonsensical and blessedly rock-and-roll line I have heard from a rock band since “Psycho Killer, qu’est-que-c’est.”
The hedonistic “I’m just here to have a good time” mentality is what differentiates a rock-and-roll album from other genres. Their latest album, Blame my Ex, goes further into this mentality, blending their upbeat sound with angsty lyrics that investigate past break-ups, loneliness, self-doubt, and regret. It indulges universal emotions, reminding listeners to love themselves and their moment in spite of both.
Take “Blame Brett”, the album’s opening track that is sung from the perspective of a person who has totally given up on reckoning with the internal damage caused by their previous break-up with ‘Brett.’
“I'm sorry in advance
I'm only gonna treat you bad
I'm probably gonna let you down
I'm probably gonna sleep around”
So far it sounds like a sex-positive fuck-you-and-fuck-me song about prioritising yourself over others. Not exactly egotistic but neither is it self-loathing. The next verse, however, expands:
“That's why I won't get vulnerable
Don't you dare get comfortable
Heartbreak is impossible
Feelings doing somersaults
I'm not ready for therapy
To take accountability
Right now it's about me
Me and only 'bout me“
Jordan Miller, the writer of the track and lead singer, described the outlook in an interview, “I’m the villain in the song. When people are like “Oh F Brett” I’m like “No you guys are missing the idea of the song, the whole record even… The record is a breakup album but it’s about what happens to you after a breakup and all the mixed feelings, self-rediscovery and self loathing.”
That same introspection echoes throughout the record, including “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Paranoid”, “Me and Me”, and “Shower Beer.” It’s not the album of narcissists – by sharing their inner doubts and reflections, The Beaches were able to evolve beyond their original dance-rock sound while maintaining and deepening their fun and iconic rhythms.
To be clear, this is no reinvention. The Beaches’ music remains as fun as ever, but like most decent art, it’s best seen live. I first saw them perform in one of Montreal’s smaller venues in 2018, playing their 2017 debut album, Late Show, that oozed energy even in its recorded version.
When I first heard Blame my Ex, I was disappointed that I couldn’t hear their original unapologetically in-your-face attitude. I was dead wrong. Although The Beaches’ music has changed over the last five years, their style has not. If you have the chance, see them, because they proved me wrong from the first song they played. At the end of the night, while watching the crowd slowly file out of the venue, I was stunned that a band could play such sad songs while having such a good time.
Although the Beaches have grown up, I clearly haven’t.
Photo by Gideon Salutin