Honeymoon – Beach Bunny
★ ★ ★
The Chicago-based artist, Lilli Trifilio has had a reputation in the DIY scene for quite some time, with her anecdotal-style lyrics and candid delivery on her solo project, Beach Bunny. After a steady stream of EPs and singles since 2016, Beach Bunny came out with their first full-length album, Honeymoon, as a four-piece band earlier this month. With only a 25-minute runtime, Honeymoon is a concise representation of the band’s established talents, namely Trifilio’s unique vocals, influenced by the likes of Sidney Gish and Charly Bliss.
Her introspective lyrics take centre stage on the record, backed by the band’s signature sound, and indie-rock legend Joe Reinhart’s producing talent. The album opens with ‘Promises’, setting up themes of heartbreak, crushes, and relationships – fitting for its Valentine’s Day debut. Musically, Honeymoon is much more diverse than the band’s previous releases, with ballads like ‘Racetrack’ and ‘Rearview’ breaking up the pattern of light-hearted pop-punk on the rest of the album.
For their first full-length album, Honeymoon presents Trifilio’s unique approach to songwriting and lyricism to the admittedly tired tropes of insecurity and superficiality in Gen-Z relationships. For a pop-punk record, Honeymoon is an easy listen with just the right amount of self-reflective awareness.
Kasia O’Connor – Music Writer
