Photo Credit: Meg Moon
“Gonna be the last girls at the party” sings Jordan Miller from The Beaches, one of Canada’s best up and coming indie-rock bands, during the last track of their new album. No Hard Feelings is definitely a party album while, at times, a recognition of the joys and pitfalls of relationships and life in general.
It’s been a big year for the quartet, who were recently announced as Billboard Canada‘s Women Of The Year winners, just six months after winning the Juno Award for Group of the Year.
No Hard Feelings follows on from two previous albums – 2017’s Late Show and 2023’s Blame My Ex – but this one stands up as the pick of the three. There is a real sense of maturity on the record, as can be heard from the opening tracks Can I Call You In The Morning and Did I Say Too Much. Jordan Miller’s vocals have a proper edge to them, as does the guitar work from Kylie Miller and Leandra Earl.
Next up is Sorry For Your Loss, where there is a sense of empathetic lyrics with a very catchy chorus that just begs to be sang back to them on tour. Touch Myself keeps up the excitement – while leaning into pop sensibilities, the guitar on this album highlights some of the best indie rock you will hear all year. It seems like an age since Takes One To Know One was released in July 2024 – we heard this track well in time for the tour last year, where we were lucky enough to catch The Beaches at SWG3 in Glasgow. Then comes the best lyrics on the album in our opinion: “You made your therapist cry and I thought that was hilarious/I think our parents were sky-high or something, when they were raising us.”
We now move onto I Wore You Better, where Jordan Miller‘s vocals are a standout, while Dirty Laundry has to be another of the top tracks on the album – the continuous guitar riffs that run through the song are so uplifting. The song itself is about someone cheating in a relationship, which is quite a common theme on the record.
Lesbian Of The Year has Earl on the keyboard playing a lovely melody, while Jocelyn is another that we got to hear live last year before it was released – the simple chorus goes down well live. Proving they are still party animals, album closer Last Girls At The Party will have you dancing and singing along, perhaps with a drink in hand.
The Beaches are currently on tour in the USA, before heading home to Canada where they will play at the Scotiabank Arena in their home city of Toronto – a venue that holds almost 20,000 people. The Beaches also recently confirmed a UK and European tour for February 2026… Barrowland here we come!
10/10
Standout Tracks: Takes One To Know One, Dirty Laundry, Jocelyn, Last Girls At The Party
For Fans Of: Alvvays, The Beths, The Big Moon
Written by: Alan Brown
