The Beaches: Now & Beyond
Written by Jason Daniel Baker
Saturday, 29 August 2015 03:30
There are times of such spontaneous joy I experience when I make a new discovery that it makes what I do all the more worthwhile. As I tune my senses closer to the local buzz on the Toronto scene I’m finding all sorts of hidden gems and lights just beginning to burn brightly. Such was the case of my seizing the opportunity to cover Toronto band The Beaches, who happen to be from Toronto’s beaches area.
Word on the street is that they are going to be huge. Having heard so many superlatives used to describe what they have been doing I decided to take a chance and see if they would talk to me. I was lucky I timed it right. I got to the Harbourfront Centre Ontario Celebration Zone hours before their August 13th gig there and caught the end of their sound check. They indulged my impromptu interview request and I chatted briefly with them in the luxurious lounge of their spacious dressing room backstage.
I did not expect them to be so young. Fronted by 19 year old singer/bassist Jordan Miller, The Beaches also feature her lookalike 18 year old sister Kylie on lead axe, Leandra Earl on keyboards/rhythm guitar and Eliza Enman McDaniel on drums. The current line-up is a tight firm and that is reflected in the cohesiveness of their performances. The Miller sisters have been playing music together since childhood. Eliza was in a band (Done With Dolls) with them previous to their current one and writing together is nothing new.
Jordan explains the themes they explore in the songs they compose with each other – “I guess we just write about what is relevant to us so whether it’s boys or not fitting in or just shit that’s happening in Toronto.” This statement is key in deciphering metaphors Jordan injects into the lyrics. It gives their sound a feel that distinctly suggests life in Canada’s largest city.
I immediately got a sense of the playful comraderie this young band has with each other. They are Girl-Next-Door types who started playing music together young and foresaw the realization of their musical aspirations within mutual collaboration. Clearly I caught them at the stage in their development where they’re bouncing ideas off each other freely and finding themselves as musicians. Naturally this is the best time of all to catch a young, up and coming band.
Eliza appears to be best at remembering all the places they have played. Past Toronto gigs include memorable performances at the Horseshoe Tavern, Lee’s Palace, The Rivoli and the Sound Academy. They toured parts of Britain in support of Aussie songstress Brody Dalle in Spring 2014. They also played the Oceanica Festival last year, the Way Home Festival this year as well as the Ottawa Blues Fest and Vans Warped Tour in 2013. They also toured with Vancouver band Mother Mother a couple of years ago.
Says Jordan matter-of-factly, “I think that is the best part of this cool venture is that we’re really good friends and that we have fun together and that we don’t wanna kill each other on stage.” I can’t imagine there being any acrimony. The vibe they give off suggests such a close-knit crew.
A sense of what binds them together can be felt in how they play with each other live. The show they put on that evening was entirely beyond any of expectations. They kicked it with a considerably heavier groove than I anticipated. The wild experimentation on display also threw me for a loop. Much of that was the result of having mad genius Leandra Earl on keyboards, which add sublime texture, with the option of her switching to rhythmic axe mid-set.
Whilst powerful there was a noticeable polish to their sound not just gleaned from extensive rehearsal. Younger bands are often told to keep it simple. But The Beaches don’t have to. They have the chops to handle complex arrangements, vocal harmonies and solos. A big part of what holds it all together is having such a versatile keyboard player. The result was one of the best shows I’ve seen in a while.
There was a confidence level evident as they captured the attention of the audience and owned it through a full set and an encore. They know what they can do and when they hit the stage they just flew. All the shyness and nerves they exuded in the interview disappeared. Four rock solid musicians with poise that generally comes with far more experience went out and killed it with epic show-womanship.
The Beaches have put out two EPs – their self-titled debut in 2013 and ‘Heights’, which they released last year. Their song ‘Loner’ was used in a commercial for the clothing line FCUK. They are currently working on a new album which is a priority for them to complete and put out.
I expect to be writing more about them in the years to come. The sky is the limit as far as their potential goes and you couldn’t meet nicer girls.
Get more info at:
http://thebeachesband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thebeachesband
https://soundcloud.com/thebeachesband
[Photo kudos to Austen Ambraska & David Leyes Photography]