Formed in 2013 in a Toronto neighborhood that shares their name, The Beaches consist of lifelong musicians and pals: frontperson and bassist Jordan Miller, Jordan’s sister Kylie Miller on guitar, their grade school accomplice Eliza Enman-McDaniel on drums and close bud Leandra Earl on guitar and keys.

The Beaches’ first self-released album Blame My Ex, turned heartbreak into a punches-not-pulled pop-rock masterclass. Mega-viral single ‘Blame Brett’ spent months topping TikTok’s charts and worldwide radio. No Hard Feelings, the anticipated follow-up to Blame My Ex, is out now. What made the last record magic is cranked up to god mode: comic introspection, vulnerable musings and tight interplay remain, with sparkling sonics exploding into even grander hooks.

I spoke to Jordan and Eliza about The Beaches’ new album, and we took many detours to Fleetwood Mac, queer breakups, mermaids, Aries rage and making music out of salacious gossip with your best friends. 

Dani Leever: Hey friends! Super nice to be chatting. So you’re in the country touring with G Flip right now! How’s it going?

Eliza Enman-McDaniel: Thanks Dani! Yeah, so we’re so grateful and happy to be touring with G, we’re such big fans. We started out as fans and then became friends, so to have this happen is kind of a dream come true.

Jordan Miller: It’s been such a lovely experience. We’ve never seen G play in Australia. And to see, like, 8,000 people singing their songs has been so wonderful. Especially because we’ve been friends for a long time, it feels really amazing to support and root for them, and cherish these moments when it’s your friend’s big moment, you know?

DL: Totally! So you’ve very recently released a single with G Flip – along with a great music video – called ‘LEZ GO!‘. Now, call me conspiratorial, I could be really off the money… but something about that song has a bit of a gay vibe. Can you confirm or deny?

JM: [laughs] Maybe it’s a little gay…

EEM: No, I don’t know where you’d get that… [laughs]

JM: Maybe it’s in the spelling or something? We’re… subtle. We’ve collaborated with them a bunch; they wrote ‘Last Girls at the Party’ with us. G had just finished their record, and I’m like, “Do you have anything that didn’t make the cut?” And they’re like, “Well, there’s this one song, Chrishell really likes it, I’m just not sure.” And I was like, This song’s amazing! So thank you, Chrishell, for the song.

DL: Thank you Chrishell for everything.

JM: Yes, thank you Chrishell for everything! It has such a romantic, beautiful, queer love story. G and Chrishell have such a beautiful love story. It was kind of fun to pretend to be Chrishell when I was writing my verse, ’cause I was like, I don’t wanna add a friend vibe to this… I think we should keep it lovey-dovey. I don’t know if I completely captured Chrishell’s voice upon hanging out with her in Australia. But I tried my best!

EEM: I think you did a great job though, because Chrishell loves the song and she said that she was fighting for it!

JM: Heck yeah.

DL: That’s so cool that it almost wasn’t released but still found itself a new way into the world! I love that.

JM: I love songs like that. ‘Silver Springs’ [by Fleetwood Mac] is also like that, which is my favourite song ever. It almost didn’t make it – it’s not on the original LP of Rumors. I think there was this… sorry, this is a weird music nerd tangent.

DL: Absolutely no need to apologise, especially because that’s my favourite song of all time!

JM: Me too, we just covered it!

DL: What?!

EEM: Yeah! It’s going to be released on March 20. [Editor’s note: this interview was conducted before the cover came out. It’s out now!] We played it at our London show at the Brixton O2 Academy and it went so well that we were like, Hell yeah, let’s just release it.

DL: That is so cool. That song is just so powerful. I can’t believe it almost didn’t see the light of day!

JM: I know, it’s devastating. And especially because you think about how ‘Go Your Own Way’ nearly made it over ‘Silver Springs’, which – I think it’s a great song and it’s definitely super popular, but ‘Silver Springs’ is like, the best song of all time. And I think it was really crushing that Lindsey Buckingham [lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist] got his ‘fuck you Stevie [Nicks]’ song on the record, but Stevie didn’t get to have hers. Anyway, ‘Silver Springs’ just never died. It got more and more popular, and now it’s really stood the test of time.

Image: Meg Moon

DL: Oh absolutely. Angie McMahon does a really incredible version of it.

EEM: [to Jordan] Didn’t you guys go and see Angie last time we were in Sydney?

JM: We did! What a talent. What a voice.

DL: It’s an incredible song, I am so excited to hear your cover! You’re so right, if Lindsey gets his moment, Stevie deserves to sing directly to him on stage, and get her “You’ll never get away from the sound of a woman that loves you” moment.

JM: I went through a breakup earlier this year, and Leandra [keyboards, guitar, backing vocals for The Beaches] is going through a breakup right now. I think when I first went through my really, really bad breakup, which she’s going through at the moment, I think that song really holds a lot of weight and it can really tether you to your feelings. You can push away those feelings, but you’ll never get away from those feelings. It feels so good to be reminded of that when you’re feeling really heartbroken.

DL: Extremely true. Well that’s a really good segue because speaking of feelings, your new album is called No Hard Feelings…

JM: Yes! It’s such a joke too, because there are hard feelings. There are so many hard feelings.

DL: One hundred per cent. My favourite thing is that it’s called No Hard Feelings, but the first chorus of the first song is like “I hate your boyfriends, I hate your girlfriends / I hate your boyfriend’s girlfriends”. It juxtaposes the title really well, because it’s so obviously full of hard feelings and frustration.

JM: Yeah! We’re cool girls. [laughs] If we can help it, we generally don’t like to use a song title as the title of an album. We like to use a lyric that’s kind of fun. Blame My Ex was similar. That album had the song ‘Blame Brett’ with a similar joke, where I’m like, Well I’m not at fault here, blame my ex-boyfriend! But the song is basically blaming myself as well.

EEM: No Hard Feelings sounded like the perfect follow up to Blame My Ex. It’s like, we’re spilling all this tea and blaming Brett, and then the next record is like, “Well, no hard feelings!” It’s just kind of the perfect tongue-in-cheek Beaches-esque way to put that. I think Dani, your take is so true. Like, there are lots of hard feelings on the album, so the title just has that juxaposition to it. We loved the way it sounded.

DL: Totally. And I think that contrast works so well with your music because it’s often super confessional, but then also quite tongue-in-cheek. Like the song ‘Lesbian of the Year’ – obviously a favourite of mine – has all these gay in-jokes in the lyrics, and the title is very celebratory, but ultimately it’s quite a melancholy song. Can you tell me a little bit about that song and what it was conveying?

JM: Completely. Leandra had done a podcast with Shannon Beveridge, where she jokingly referred to herself as “lesbian of the year”, because one of our fans gave her this little trophy that said that, so she was sort of riffing on that. In the interview, she was extremely vulnerable and open about her experience with her queerness, about coming out later in life, dealing with her identity, dealing with some of the romantic choices she was making. She was dating a lot of messy people, as we all do. When I first started falling in love, I certainly did. I’m sure you have too!

It was a really beautiful, vulnerable, funny interview. But two of our straight cis male co-writers listened to it the day before a session, and they were so moved by it. They were like, “This is such a beautiful story. We should turn this into a song”. And it kind of snowballed from that.

It’s been a really beautiful experience. Firstly for Leandra to own her story and be so vulnerable about her experiences, but it also feels really nice when I get to sing it, ’cause it’s like I’m singing it to the 13-year-old closeted girl that Leandra was, and seeing how far she’s come.

I know she always jokes, but I do think she’s a great Lesbian of the Year.

EEM: What I love about the song is that since Leandra has come out, there’s been a lot of… well, people come to her with all of this super heavy stuff. I think she’s honoured that these people feel comfortable sharing their stories of their queer awakenings with her. I also think it does weigh on her too, because at first, she was still just kind of figuring out her stuff and still definitely doesn’t have all the answers. The song is a reminder that we’re all human and we’re all trying to figure out our shit.

I know she always jokes, but I do think she’s a great Lesbian of the Year.

DL: Yeah absolutely. That must be tricky, with fans reaching out assuming you have it all together, and must have all the answers.

EEM: Yeah! And she’s like, Girl, I don’t even know what I had for breakfast. Do you know what I mean? So I think it’s like, the perfect song in that way.

No Hard Feelings is out now.

DL: For sure. I mean, that reminds me of reading how Leandra once compared No Hard Feelings to ‘Sex and the City’, where it’s just having a gossip with your friends, drinking mimosas, having a bitch about relationship drama and breakups etc. Can you tell me about using music as sort of a confessional space or a way to process your feelings, particularly with your friends?

JM: Yeah! I mean, I think that was really the wonderful exercise in writing this record: we wanted it to feel like a gossip session, like we’re all at brunch together. When we’re commuting [to the studio], we’re talking amongst ourselves, asking, Well what are we going to write about today? And often we’ll write about what crazy thing is happening in our lives.

If someone’s been on a really bad date or is going through some awful thing with an ex, we’ll generally talk about it, suss it out and turn that kernel of gossip into a song. It makes songwriting so much more fun, but also it makes it really collaborative.

I think a lot of bands nowadays only share the perspective of whoever the lead singer is. I think that’s such a disservice to making music in general; you’re really shooting yourself in the foot by not including everybody’s perspectives, because everybody’s got interesting stories, and everybody can be messy!

DL: One hundred per cent! I love the idea that everyone has a voice when it comes to lyrics.

EEM: I feel like Jordan, she will channel the things that we’re saying. We’ll spew out a bunch of shit, and she will take from that and be like, Oh, what you said there is actually really interesting. And then she’ll build specific lyrics around it. It’s very collaborative though, too. We help each other out, but Jordan is definitely the main lyricist.

If someone’s been on a really bad date or is going through some awful thing with an ex, we’ll generally talk about it, suss it out and turn that kernel of gossip into a song.

JM: I think I’m driving the ship a little bit, but everybody’s like – sorry, I’m such a visual person. I’m driving the ship, and people will be like, Oooh, look at those islands over there! Maybe we can go for a quick visit! And I’m like, Okay cool, we can stop over there on the way to our destination. I think the most important thing is that we’re all in the room together and we’re all contributing to the song, you know?

DL: When you used that visual, my brain was like, maybe someone points out a mermaid and is like, You guys, that mermaid has a really good point, let’s go towards those rocks. 

JM: That’s exactly right, too.

DL: Are you steering them toward the mermaid? Or are you like, That’s a dugong. We’re gonna crash. 

JM: It depends! As long as we make our way to the chorus. [laughs]

DL: For sure. So we’ve spoken about rage and frustration and how they play an important role in your lyrics, in this really fun way that’s kind of accessible and tongue-in-cheek. Do you think that’s because – if my research is correct – you have two Aries in the band?

JM: You’re speaking to them!

EEM: Yes you are!

DL: Oh my God, I love that. Thank you internet. So to uphold the Aries vibe, how do you find that rage channels its way through your music?

EEM: Oh, I love that question. I mean, it’s interesting because us two Aries are actually the ones who probably fight the least. We don’t fight with each other – usually when you put two Aries together, it’s chaos. I think it just depends on what we’re going through day to day.

A lot of the time, I think we’re nice Canadian girls and we can get fucked with a lot. Do you know what I mean? So I think when that happens – and Canadians don’t really share their anger – we’ll show it in our music and our lyrics.

JM: That question made me think of our ‘We Ride’ moment. I agree with Eliza, if people fuck with me I’m such a pushover. I will let people walk all over me. But if people fuck with my bandmates, especially romantically – like Kylie and Leandra this year just had the two most awful romantic situations happen to them. And the vitriol and rage I feel… it really boils my piss so hard.

DL: It boils your piss?

JM: It boils my piss!

EEM: I think you just made that up, Jordan.

JM: I didn’t! It’s a UK expression! I’m not from there, but I just really like it. Anyway, I think the other girls would feel the same way. You don’t fuck with our bandmates’ hearts. I don’t remember the specifics of the story, but I think this awful thing happened to Leandra, and Lori [our manager] stole a line from the movies and was like, “We ride at dawn.”

DL: That’s so good.

JM: It’s a good way to channel our aggression. I think it sorts of bleeds into our songwriting sometimes, because we write about things that actually happen to us. A lot of that is messy, painful bullshit. And so when your bandmate’s being vulnerable and sharing, you just get really angry and you want to throw a lot of ‘fuck yous’ in the song. We all have “We Ride” tattooed on us.

EEM: I need to get one still!

Kylie and Leandra this year just had the two most awful romantic situations happen to them. And the vitriol and rage I feel… it really boils my piss so hard.

JM: Get one this trip! Aries behaviour.

Image: Meg Moon

DL: For sure. I love that, it speaks so much to how The Beaches have these close friendships, which you can hear in the music. So, I tried to come up with a really clever way to ask this question about queerness on a huge scale in the current era of how horrible everything is, but also how queer pop is having a moment and how representation is extra important… Anyway, the only way I can think to ask this question is: how do you feel about being gay and famous?

JM: I mean, I’m bisexual!

DL: Oh yes, I mean gay as an umbrella term. In my vernacular I mean it as a catch-all term, but I know that’s not everyone’s experience.

JM: Okay cool, I wasn’t sure. I don’t know whether it’s my own internalised biphobia, but sometimes when I’m asked these questions, I’m like, well this question would be more suited for Leandra because she’s a lesbian. That probably is just internalised biphobia. But it feels great to be bi! I love being bi and I also love being famous.

I really love that I have the privilege and the power to write about all the experiences with different relationships I’ve had in my life. I love that I have the ability to make music in a country where I have the freedom to talk about the people that I’ve loved. There’s certain places in the world right now where that’s getting harder and harder to do.

I have a deep and profound respect for people like Chappell Roan who proclaim their queerness with such pride and such dignity in the face of people who fucking hate them and are trying to take their rights away. I think it’s really important to do that.

Even if you have a complicated relationship with your sexuality, like I do, I think it’s important to own who you are and tell the truth. Sorry, I don’t know if I’ve answered the question.

DL: No, that was really great.

EEM: That was great!

DL: For sure. It must be such a headfuck to be like, I’m creating this music because it’s so honest to me, then people hear it, and are able to make sense of their lives. Does that feel like it comes with a lot of pressure? Or is it just more of a really exciting thing to be a part of?

I have a deep and profound respect for people like Chappell Roan who proclaim their queerness with such pride and such dignity in the face of people who fucking hate them and are trying to take their rights away.

JM: I think actually… you would think that it causes a lot of pressure, but it’s actually more freeing. I think often when you’re writing something, especially if it’s kind of painful, you have to perform it again and again, you’re kind of like, Oh my God, is this going to be like stabbing myself in the heart every time I have to sing this song? 

But when people come up to you and say like, This experience really spoke to me, something extremely similar happened in my life, it’s like you understood my brain, the song no longer becomes fully yours. It’s something that you share with an audience, right? And that makes the experience of having to relive those moments a little bit easier because you’re like, this isn’t just mine, this is somebody else’s experience as well.

And ultimately, the point of music is to be able to connect with fans on shared experiences. So that means we’re doing our jobs.

Ultimately, the point of music is to be able to connect with fans on shared experiences. So that means we’re doing our jobs.

DL: Oh wow, that’s so cool, having those moments where you can connect with fans, not realising that yours was an experience that other people have shared. It’s like you’d be thinking that you were alone in those feelings, but then you’re creating a way for yourself and fans to process and respond to it within the music.

JM: Yeah, completely. I mean, there’s multiple layers to it. A song starts with a private thought, and then you share it with your bandmates, and then they might have similar experiences to contribute to the song. And then the song gets shared to your fans, and then they tell you their story. It’s really just about connecting.

That’s what music is about. It’s about connecting to yourself, to your friends, and to strangers.

DL: Amazing. It absolutely is. Thank you so much for the chat, I really enjoyed nerding out about music I really love. I hope it’s so much fun being here and doing these really cool shows!

EEM: Awesome, thank you so much Dani!

JM: Yeah thank you so much Dani!

Listen to No Hard Feelings here, and check out the video for ‘LEZ GO’ with G Flip here.