Ever since catching this all girl rock band at the beginning of the month I’ve been listening to some singles by The Beaches on and off. I figured now was as good a time as any to give their full length effort, Late Show, a chance.
Let me just get it out there right away that this album was killer! Seriously, it was hard to find a weak spot in the 12-track effort, and that was based off a first listen. I can say that that almost never happens, even for bands that I absolutely love. So kudos to The Beaches! I would say some of my favorite songs include “Money,” “Moment,” and “T-Shirt.” Other strong contenders for me include the title track, “Late Night” and “Turn Me On.” As I just said, no songs were bad, but I suppose if I had to pick the weakest links, in my opinion, they would be the opening and closing tracks, “Back of My Heart” and “Sweet Life,” respectively.
Truly though, what a banger from start to finish! They are a certified rock band and if the fact that they are all females has you doubting that fact, then listen again because you would be wrong! The drums go hard, the riffs are sweet, and the bass is slapping. Add in some neat keyboard assists and you’ve got yourself one well-rounded effort. Aside from rocking instrumentals, the lyrics are pretty to-notch, too. “Money” and “Let Me Touch” are two tracks whose words really stood out to me the first time around.
Jordan Miller and her sister, Kylie, have some beautiful vocals and achieve fantastic harmonies throughout the record, but I was pretty floored by Jordan’s vocals in “Highway 6.” The song itself sounds like a huge departure from the rest of the songs off the album, but not in a bad way. They take their time with it, and Jordan hits some spine-tingling falsettos. Of all of the one-off singles I’ve listened to prior to checking out this full-length, a lot of the vocals sound in the same range, but truthfully, the opening song, “Back of My Heart,” almost made it sound like a different band entirely. Not that I disliked it, but it made me nervous for what the rest of the record was going to sound like. My fears were immediately put to rest on the next track and lead single, “Money.”
I’m still shocked I had never heard of this band before seeing them in a live setting, and I think I’ll continue to be grateful that I did. I know they’ve got a new EP out, so I’ll be giving that a spin along with all of their prior EP releases. I hope these girls manage to catch some mainstream momentum in the rock world, but if not, then they’re a nice little gem I have no problem keeping to myself! Go listen to The Beaches!