The Beaches are cool and chaotic on Blame My Ex

The phase when you’re so totally over that toxic situationship but would probably succumb to one more “you up?” text. The phase where you swore you were never drinking again but somehow find yourself spending Sunday morning horribly hungover. The phase where you’re trying to grow up but stay true to yourself, where you feel like you’re just a teenage girl stuck in a 20-something’s body, but all your friends are suddenly starting to get married. On their second LP Blame My Ex, the Canadian four-piece captures the chaos, confusion, and magic of trying to figure out what the fuck is going on.

Over ten amped-up pop-rock songs, The Beaches vacillate between the nerve-wracking rush that accompanies a crush like on “Cigarette” when they proclaim, “Fuck, I feel so cool / When you talk to me / I'm so lucky / Do you like me?” and the touchingly tender “If a Tree Falls.” While they may still be trying to decipher their feelings, the quartet delivers razor-sharp guitar riffs and slamming percussion. Formed while they were still in high school, they still have the residual rebelliousness that comes from sneaking out to party on a school night when you're supposed to be at your friend's house studying.

Still, it’s on “Shower Beer,” that they truly shine, sheepishly admitting, “I’ve got fear of missing out / I want to get drunk and slip up / I need to be talked about.” Despite the playful delivery and devil-may-care vocals, the track distills the sinking feeling of knowing you’re going to be faced with some pretty uncomfortable conversations that exceed just dive bar banter the second you sober up. Blame My Ex encapsulates the struggle and sweetness of finding your way in the world. They don't pretend like things are perfect, or even easy, instead, they indulge in all the late nights, smudged make-up, and unexpected triumphs that make your head spin and your heart flutter.

The Beaches are refreshingly honest, they know that they might strike out, but they're not afraid to play the game. They face this new phase of adolescence, the one where you have to buy a bed frame and deal with your friends moving away, with an optimism that makes even your biggest fumbles feel like it's all part of the plot. Change can be scary, but with their garage-tinted rock n' roll, The Beaches make it seem pretty cool.