Photo Credit: Becca Hamel
Blame My Ex is Toronto’s, The Beaches, first new album in six years, even though they’ve released several EPs and stand-alone tracks in the interim (even about half the songs on this album had been available at some point previously). In fact, that last album, Late Show, was The Beaches’ debut and their only other full-length release. At that point, the band had been signed to Island Records, but have since split with the label and are currently releasing independently.
Despite the title, Blame My Ex, clearly suggests that such independence works for The Beaches. The opening track (and the one directly connected to the album’s title) “Blame Brett” is a bouncy and fun pop rock song with an amazing ¼ beat chorus which also takes a serious look at the way many people feel about how a recent breakup has shaped them as a person, and often not in a good way (what is good is that the song has been topping a number of indie and alternative charts, deservedly so).
Most of the remainder of Blame My Ex proves that “Blame Brett” was no fluke. The underlying serious theme of independence and regaining a sense of self-worth is reflected on “Me & Me.” (“Finally free // Won’t waste my time // Self-loathing”). “Everything is Boring” certainly isn’t, (“The silence kills me // It’s like nothing thrills me // Doctor please just pill me”), it’s another tight fun rock song, especially for one with a chorus based on a nursery rhyme (“It’s raining, it’s pouring // Everything is boring”). “Shower Beer” is also uptempo and catchy as is “Edge of the Earth.”
Other standout tracks include “Kismet,” where lead singer Jordan Miller raps (that’s right) in a vampy style on the song which packs in a surf rock-type bridge and a Maroon 5-esque chorus. Mid-tempo “My Body” offers a ’90s-like hook and borders on being an (intentional) parody of soft rock. The band’s strongest asset, sad to say, is not always Miller’s singing voice: at times she seems to be trying too hard, making the flow seem less natural than it had been on Late Show. But overall, the synth underlay coupled with guitars works quite well through most of the album.
Not every cut on Blame My Ex is spectacular, The best thing about “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Paranoid” is the title on this needlessly overlong cut. However, the rest of the band – guitarist Kylie Miller, bassist Leandra Earl, and drummer Eliza Enman-McDaniel – all more than deliver, leaving just enough of a margin of error to let us understand that the band is a work in progress and that we should be willing to stick around to hear their evolution for ourselves. It would be easy to blame any fan of stripped-down but catchy alternative rock for not giving Blame My Ex at least a listen, although they could be blamed less if they decide the final verdict on the band should be reserved for future releases (still, wherever he is now, Brett should be honored to be a part of this).
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