Review Summary: Growing up is hard
The “this album is a more mature version of [insert artist in question]” narrative is probably the most tired cliche in music reviewing, but there’s no denying it’s sometimes apt. Beach Bunny’s second LP,
Emotional Creature, is one of those cases. With the group’s trademark fusion of relentlessly catchy indie pop with moody adolescent concerns, there’s plenty of newfound maturity to reach, but the question is whether it’s the right move. Will such a change destroy the essential trappings which have brought the Chicago-based band to the brink of widespread popularity, on the back of TikTok stardom for their song “Prom Queen” and an impressive full-length debut (
Honeymoon, released in 2020), or is it an essential move which will bring the group to the next level?
Spoiler alert: as an album,
Emotional Creature doesn’t give a decisive answer to these questions. To give some context to this review, I’ll provide a few caveats about my personal feelings regarding Beach Bunny’s previous output. First, I’ve found the group’s assortment of EPs to be rather middling, if decent (granted, I’m probably a little, ummm,
well-aged to be the target demographic). Second, I was genuinely floored by the greatness of
Honeymoon. Even with plenty of flaws to pick apart, that album was an exceptionally sound debut, and arguably more importantly, it was the most straight-up catchy release I’ve heard in a good five years. If you don’t believe me, just listen to a song like “Cuffing Season” or “Dream Boy” three times in a row and then try to fall asleep without one or both of those earworms being stuck in your head. To summarize,
Honeymoon had that highly sought after indie pop goodness in spades, and made my attendant hopes for Beach Bunny’s future endeavors quite high.
Even if the new record can be pigeonholed broadly into the same genres as its predecessor,
Emotional Creature is a different beast. On the negative side, this is a diminished effort in the aspect on which
Honeymoon truly thrived: pure, unadulterated catchiness. This isn’t to say
Emotional Creature is wholly devoid of jams, yea, even of bops, as early in the tracklist there are several tunes which would qualify, like the opener “Entropy” or “Deadweight”, perhaps the album’s gold standard in terms of catchiness. But even these standouts are “just” pretty solid, not competing at the “all-decade” level for this criteria.
This whole last paragraph bodes pretty ill for
Emotional Creature, I know, but the album manages to make up a good chunk of the difference. This is a record which sees the band taking steps to diversify their style, in a range of ways. While
Honeymoon was a collection dominated by brief and fast-paced pop tunes,
Emotional Creature mixes things up in both tempo and song length, with both a few brief interlude-length tracks (of which “Infinity Room” manages to stand out as a highlight) and several songs which are remarkably expansive by Beach Bunny’s modest standards (closer “Love Song” stretches towards six minutes, including a lovely dreamy outro). This is also a bit of a journey of an album, with a first half dominated by mid-tempo power pop offerings while the later reaches get more adventurous. Besides the aforementioned “Infinity Room” and “Love Song”, there’s “Scream”, certainly the most experimental tune on offer, and probably the biggest keeper of the bunch. And this attempt to shake things up extends to the lyrics as well. Lili Trifilio is still singing verses which aren’t so far removed in subject matter from wishing she was a California girl or touching on any number of teenage tropes, sure, but there’s an added layer of somberness which appears here and there. This is particularly evident in “Weeds”, with its focus on self-actualization rather than obsessing on romantic relationships for validation. Don’t expect anything Dylanesque, but one can see the band striving to eak out more mileage on the lyrical side while maintaining their straightforward approach.
Emotional Creature feels like an album with an identity crisis, in some respects. While reliably pleasant to listen to, the highlights aren’t especially clear-cut, and the record repeatedly feels pulled in different directions. It’s a fairly understandable position to be in though. Beach Bunny have reached their present success through a certain formula, and now they face the thorny dilemma of whether to “not change horses in midstream” or to adjust to keep things fresh.
Emotional Creature provides enough to keep the group’s longtime fans happy, while also extending some tendrils to explore potential future evolutions. In short, it’s one of those transition albums whose legacy will heavily depend on reception to Beach Bunny’s future output. Growing up is hard, but for now,
Emotional Creature serves a solid portrait of a band in motion.
