Beach Bunny

“Shut up, count your calories/I never looked good in mom jeans.” That’s the line that first thrust many Beach Bunny fans into the neurotic mind of Lili Trifilio, leader of the Chicago indie-pop quartet. Opening the band’s 2018 breakout single, “Prom Queen”, those words perfectly encapsulate the insecurities that fuel Trifilio’s writing, and the sardonic humour she uses to overcome them. That quality was ever-present starting when Beach Bunny was a largely acoustic solo project for Trifilio, who began releasing DIY EPs under the alias in 2016. Even with their lo-fi trappings, early releases like Pool Party and Animalism showcased a singer/songwriter able to express her inner turmoil in a manner that was both emotionally arresting and casually comforting. But by 2017’s Crybaby, Beach Bunny had blossomed into a four-piece jangle-punk band in the vein of musically upbeat/lyrically downcast predecessors like Best Coast and Alvvays, and after “Prom Queen” received a belated boost from TikTokkers nearly a year after its release, Trifilio was the new belle of the indie ball. Buoyed by that unexpected success, the group’s 2020 full-length debut, Honeymoon, displays a more robust bubblegrunge sound, while 2021 single “Good Girls (Don’t Get Used)” exudes the polish and pluck of early-2000s pop-punk. But at the core of every Beach Bunny song is Trifilio’s gift for translating personal disappointment into communal joy. “I wouldn’t really know how to write a song outside my own experience,” she told Apple Music. “It’s cool that people are able to relate because, most of the time, I’m just like, ‘This is personal therapy!’”