"Honeymoon" by Beach Bunny

Beach Bunny’s front-woman Lili Trifilio returns with a series of more nostalgia-inducing heartbreak anthems on the band’s debut album, Honeymoon. The record displays a significant progression from their previously self-released EPs, including “Prom Queen” whose titular hit rose to viral fame on the youth-crazed Tik Tok app. Beginning as a bedroom songwriting project for Chicago-native Trifilio, Beach Bunny has now grown to include Matt Henkels on guitar, Jon Alvarado on drums, and more recently, Anthony Vaccaro on bass. With a new label behind them and a number of years of experience under their belt, the quartet has come together for a strong first record under Mom + Pop Music.

The album begins with “Promises,” which is plastered with Trifilio’s signature heartache lyrics. She sings, “Promises and problems were all left unsaid/ Buried away at the back of my bed/ Close my eyes but every time I try to rest/ It’s hard to think clearly, you live inside my head.” This first track expresses the emotions we tend to experience following a breakup, a moment where both love and hatred have the ability to coexist for that other person we’ve left behind. Various trials and tribulations of young relationships dot the record Doubt, uncertainty, and the hesitation to commit weave their way from track to track to tying together key moments of relationships, hookups, and infatuations. Through her lyrics, Trifilio painted me this image of every romantic encounter I’ve had in the past year while allowing for an opportunity to reflect on them all, regardless of their impact. Punching percussions and surfy beachside guitar riffs beat their way through these themes of love and loss keeping me drumming my fingers along to each track. The wistful and familiar lyrics evoke a nostalgia for high school hallway crushes and that first love I felt like I’d never recover from (and perhaps never quite did). Aside from the lyrics, the replicability of the tracks themselves also works to emphasize their familiarity. Whether on the record or in a live session what you see and hear is exactly what you get. No strings and no surprises. Trifilo is simply the girl next door. Her refined vibrant vocals on the record provide a slightly more crisp delivery to the lyrics this time around, still without losing the signature garage indie rock and bedroom pop sound that the group is known for.

Listening to the album chronologically –an approach I personally see most fit– the record begins with a heartbreak anthem and progresses through the discovery of a new love interest all the while accompanied by the sentiments of navigating newfound feelings of love. Although relics of Trifilio’s core heartbreak inspirations manage to sneak their way into nearly every track, the record ends with a twinge of hopefulness not previously seen before from the group’s work. After years of writing about heartbreak, it finally appears as though Trifilio has found the inspiration to write about the ups and downs of the honeymoon phase of a relationship.

For me, the one downside of the album was that on my first listen through it felt as if I had already listened to it before. The songs didn’t initially grab me by my headphone strings and it honestly took until the second and third listens to gain some better traction. Because four of the nine tracks were released as singles before Honeymoon’s official release, to me, the album as a whole felt anticipated, as if I had heard it before. But I believe that a quick conclusion can be made from this: Mom + Pop Music released the four more pop-leaning tracks first perhaps in hopes of riding the Tik Tok wave and re-attracting all of the teens still streaming “Prom Queen.” However, I suspect that this could’ve been achieved after the release of their first single “Dream Boy.” Regardless of this publicity stunt, Honeymoon still remains a solid record in my eyes. I will admit that I’ll always come back for more Beach Bunny, but I do wish so much of the record hadn’t been given away early. What otherwise could have been a great record falls more flat and repetitive than it should have under different circumstances.

– Sophie Barrio