The Beaches (band)

The Beaches
The Beaches at the release party for their album Blame My Ex in 2023; left to right: Eliza Enman-McDaniel, Kylie Miller, Jordan Miller and Leandra Earl
The Beaches at the release party for their album Blame My Ex in 2023; left to right: Eliza Enman-McDaniel, Kylie Miller, Jordan Miller and Leandra Earl
Background information
Also known asDone with Dolls (2009–2013)
OriginToronto, Canada
Genres
Years active2013–present
LabelsAWAL, Universal Records (former)
MembersJordan Miller
Kylie Miller
Eliza Enman-McDaniel
Leandra Earl
Past membersMegan Fitchett

The Beaches are a Canadian rock band formed in Toronto in 2013 by Jordan Miller (lead vocals, bass), Kylie Miller (guitar, backing vocals), Leandra Earl (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals), and Eliza Enman-McDaniel (drums).[1] The band released two EPs titled The Beaches (2013) and Heights (2014) before signing to Universal Records. In 2017, they released their debut album Late Show, which led to the band winning the 2018 Juno Award for Breakthrough Group of the Year.

To follow their debut, they released two further EPs called The Professional (2019) and Future Lovers (2021).[2][3] A 2022 compilation album Sisters Not Twins (The Professional Lovers Album) combined their previous two EPs and won that year's Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year. Their second studio album Blame My Ex was released via AWAL on September 15, 2023. They won the 2024 Juno Award for Group of the Year.

History

Formation, name change and early EPs (2009–2016)

The Beaches performing at Supercrawl, opening for Arkells in Hamilton, On. in September 2014

In their early teens, sisters Jordan and Kylie Miller joined drummer Eliza Enman-McDaniel and guitarist Megan Fitchett to form the pop punk quartet Done with Dolls in their hometown of Toronto.[4] The band undertook a tour in 2011 opening for Allstar Weekend,[5] and performed the theme song to the Family Channel teen sitcom Really Me.[5] By 2013, Fitchett had left the group, after which the remaining members added new guitarist Leandra Earl (from Toronto's Little Italy neighbourhood) and renamed themselves The Beaches after the Toronto neighbourhood where the Millers and Enman-McDaniel grew up.[6][1][7] They also adopted a more alternative rock sound[4][1] and released two EPs, The Beaches (2013) and Heights (2014). The band signed to Universal Records in 2016.[1]

Late Show (2017–2018)

The Beaches released their debut full-length studio album Late Show in 2017.[8] The album was produced by Emily Haines and James Shaw of Metric and was supported by two singles, "Money" and "T-Shirt".[9] The latter peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Canada Rock chart and was certified Gold by Music Canada in 2021.[10][11] The band won Breakthrough Group of the Year at the 2018 Juno Awards.[12][13] Later that year, they received a SOCAN Songwriting Prize nomination for their song "Money".[14]

The Professional and Future Lovers EPs (2019–2022)

In 2019, The Beaches released their third EP, The Professional. It was accompanied by the singles "Fascination" and "Snake Tongue".[2] They toured Canada, opening for The Glorious Sons and Passion Pit.[15][16] They were chosen as the opening act for the only Canadian stop on the Rolling Stones' 2019 No Filter Tour.[17] Later that year, they appeared as the on-field pre-game entertainment before the kick-off of the 107th Grey Cup in Calgary. They later announced a 2020 headlining tour of Canada, which was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with their final shows of the tour being three sold-out nights headlining the Danforth Music Hall.[18]

In 2021, they released their fourth EP, Future Lovers. This was accompanied by the singles "Let's Go" and "Blow Up".[3][19] The EP consisted of songs originally intended for their forthcoming second album that they had decided to release sooner.[20] They also announced the 2022 Future Lovers Tour, which spanned 20 dates across Canada and featured The Blue Stones as special guests.[21] The band combined their two most recent EPs into a compilation album called Sisters Not Twins (The Professional Lovers Album), which won the Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year in 2022.[22][23] Later that year, the band left Island Records and independently released the singles "Grow Up Tomorrow", "Orpheus", and "My People".[24][25][26][27][28]

Blame My Ex (2023–present)

The Beaches in 2023

The Beaches announced their second album, Blame My Ex, would be released in September 2023.[29] They released "Blame Brett", the first single from the album, on May 5, 2023.[29] The song was based on the breakup of lead singer Jordan and Brett Emmons from The Glorious Sons and was co-written and co-produced by Gus Van Go and Lowell.[30] The song was described by Bilboard Canada as "poppier than their previous releases, with the heavy guitar tones swapped for reverb".[31] The song went viral on TikTok, leading to an increase of streaming of the band's catalogue and became the band's second number one on Billboard's Canada Rock chart, totaling four weeks in the top position.[30][10][32] Additionally, the song received airplay on various SiriusXM channels before being picked up by American terrestrial radio stations.[33]

The band embarked on a North American tour in 2023, including a performance at that year's Lollapalooza.[27][34] Due to the success of "Blame Brett", the tour was mostly sold out and the song had introduced the band to a younger audience than their previous work.[35] On July 17, 2024, the band opened for The Rolling Stones at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.[36]

Blame My Ex was released on September 15, 2023 via AWAL and peaked at number 76 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart, the band's first appearance on the chart.[10][30][37] The album won the Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2024,[38] and was shortlisted for the 2024 Polaris Music Prize.[39] On August 22, the band headlined their biggest hometown show in Toronto to a sold-out crowd at the Budweiser Stage, where they debuted the new song, "Jocelyn".

Band members

Current members

  • Jordan Miller – lead vocals, bass (2009–present)
  • Kylie Miller – guitar, backing vocals (2009–present)
  • Eliza Enman-McDaniel – drums (2009–present)
  • Leandra Earl – keyboards, guitar, backing vocals (2013–present)

Former members

  • Megan Fitchett – guitar (2009–2013)

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

  • Sisters Not Twins (The Professional Lovers Album) (2022)

EPs

  • The Beaches (2013)
  • Heights (2014)
  • The Professional (2019)
  • Future Lovers (2021)

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
CAN
Air.

[40]
CAN
HAC

[41]
CAN
Rock

[10]
CAN
Pop

[42]
US
Alt.

[43]
US
Rock
Air.

[44]
US
Pop

[45]
"Money" 2017 4 Late Show
"T-Shirt" 2018 41 37 1
"Fascination" 10 The Professional
"Snake Tongue" 2019 21
"Want What You Got" 2
"Lame" 2020 4
"Let's Go" 2021 34 4 Future Lovers
"Blow Up" 31 2
"Grow Up Tomorrow" 2022 32 3 Non-album singles
"Orpheus"
"My People"
"Everything Is Boring" 2023 Blame My Ex
"Blame Brett" 27 1 32 17 27 33
"What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Paranoid" 7
"Edge of the Earth"[46] 2024 21
"Takes One To Know One"[47] 3 Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Music videos

Year Song Director
2013 "Loner" Michael Maxxis
2013 "Absolutely Nothing"
2014 "Little Pieces" Doug Gillen
2014 "Strange Love"
2016 "Give It Up" Samuel Gursky
2017 "Late Show"
2017 "Money" Mark Martin
2017 "Gold"
2018 "T-Shirt" James Villeneuve[48]
2018 "Highway 6"
2018 "Moment" Ben Roberts
2018 "Fascination"
2019 "Snake Tongue"
2020 "Lame" Alex P. Smith
2021 "Blow Up"
2022 "Grow Up Tomorrow" Ievy Stamatov
2023 "Blame Brett"
2023 "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Paranoid"

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee/Work Result Ref
2018 iHeartRadio MMVAs Best New Canadian Artist The Beaches Nominated
2018 Juno Awards Breakthrough Group of the Year Late Show Won
2022 Rock Album of the Year Sisters Not Twins (The Professional Lovers Album) Won
2022 Prism Prize Prism Prize Alex P. Smith — "Blow Up" Shortlisted
2018 SOCAN Songwriting Prize SOCAN Songwriting Prize (English) Leandra Earl, Eliza Enman-McDaniel, Jordan Miller, Kylie Miller, Garrett Lee — "Money" Nominated
2023 MTV EMAs Best Canadian Act The Beaches Nominated
2024 Juno Awards Rock Album of the Year Blame My Ex Won [49]
Group of the Year The Beaches Won

References

  1. ^ a b c d Yu, Andrea (23 May 2021). "For Toronto alt-rock band the Beaches, their hometown and namesake neighbourhood are always on their mind". Toronto Star. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b "The Beaches Announce 'The Professional' EP". exclaim.ca.
  3. ^ a b "Listen: The Beaches return with anthemic new single 'Let's Go,' announce 'Future Lovers' EP | Indie88". 29 April 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  4. ^ a b "The Beaches fight for agency in a male-dominated music industry" Archived 2018-02-08 at the Wayback Machine. Now, November 29, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Young east-end band making waves". Inside Toronto, May 14, 2011.
  6. ^ "How The Beaches' Jordan Miller found escape in this 1980s fantasy novel". CBC Radio.
  7. ^ Papila, Cenk (2017-11-06). "The Beaches on Being a Rock Band in 2017, Lame Pickup Attempts, and Getting Drunk at Jack Astor's". Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  8. ^ "The Beaches Announce Debut LP, Share "Late Show" Video". Exclaim!, September 8, 2017.
  9. ^ "The Beaches Want to Be the Future of Rock 'n' Roll". Noisey, August 14, 2017.
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  13. ^ "Junos 2018: the complete list of winners". CBC News, · March 25, 2018
  14. ^ "2018 SOCAN Songwriting Prize Nominees Revealed". Exclaim!, May 24, 2018.
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  16. ^ "The Glorious Sons Team Up with the Beaches for Fall Canadian Tour". exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  17. ^ "Rolling Stones will rock out in Canada this summer during rescheduled tour". CBC News. May 16, 2019.
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  27. ^ a b "Toronto band the Beaches sport the season's coolest sunglasses trends". thestar.com. 2023-04-08. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  28. ^ Gregory, Allie (March 21, 2023). "Lollapalooza Gets Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, Red Hot Chili Peppers, ODESZA for 2023 Festival". Exclaim!.
  29. ^ a b Anderson, Carys (2023-05-06). "The Beaches announce new album Blame My Ex, name him on single "Blame Brett": Stream". Consequence. Retrieved 2023-05-16.
  30. ^ a b c Rayner, Ben (2023-09-15). "A bunch of breakups — with lovers and their label — sparked the Beaches' explosive new album: 'We've never had this much freedom'". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
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  32. ^ Lloyd, Andrew. "After 12 years together, a Canadian rock band wrote a song about the singer's ex-boyfriend. When a short clip went viral, their career skyrocketed". Insider. Retrieved 2023-10-03.
  33. ^ Ross, Sean (4 January 2024). "Sean's Top 100 Songs of 2023". RadioInsight. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
  34. ^ Gregory, Allie (May 8, 2023). "The Beaches Map Out 2023 North American Tour". Exclaim!.
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  38. ^ "Juno Award winners from the pre-telecast of the music celebration". CityNews, March 23, 2024.
  39. ^ David Friend, "Calgary rock project Cindy Lee among acts shortlisted for Polaris Music Prize". Global News, July 12, 2024.
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  41. ^ "The Beaches Chart History: Canada Hot AC". Billboard. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  42. ^ "The Beaches Chart History: Canada CHR/Top 40". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
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  45. ^ "The Beaches Chart History: Pop Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
  46. ^ ""The Beaches – Edge of The Earth": A Sonic Adventure Unveiled". See Rock Live Magazine. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  47. ^ "The Beaches – "Takes One To Know One"". Stereogum. July 12, 2024. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  48. ^ "THE BEACHES RELEASE MUSIC VIDEO FOR "T-SHIRT," THE SECOND SINGLE OFF THE CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED ALBUM LATE SHOW". 2018-04-10. Archived from the original on 2019-01-02. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  49. ^ "Junos 2024: full list of winners". CBC Music, March 23, 2024.