On archetypal listen, it’s casual to presumption Chicago power-pop trio Beach Bunny and New Zealand alt-indie quartet The Beths arsenic 2 sides of the aforesaid coin. Aside from virtually touring together, some thin to thin heavy connected their charismatic pistillate vocalists, introspective lyrics and earworm hooks. Complementary arsenic they are, though, there’s much nether the surface.
Beginning arsenic frontwoman Lili Trifilio’s 2015 solo chamber project, Beach Bunny’s mostly self-trained roster was each moving mundane time jobs astatine accelerated casual restaurants erstwhile they came unneurotic spontaneously done a Battle of the Bands competition. By contrast, The Beths’ founding lineup consists of formally trained jazz musicians who aboriginal rebelled against those roots successful favour of harmony-driven melodies.
In practice, Beach Bunny is the punchy, energetic younger fractional of this union, portion The Beths contiguous arsenic the technically polished, sardonic older sibling. On August 2 astatine the House of Blues, Indianapolis’ shoegazing quintet Wishy served arsenic the opener earlier The Beths rotated into the mediate slot up of Beach Bunny aft closing it retired successful Tucson the nighttime prior.
The archetypal enactment I took connected The Beths—namesake of vocalist Elizabeth Stokes—was that they dependable astir identical to their workplace recordings. While I’d seen them erstwhile earlier astatine an outdoor festival, this trait is adjacent much evident successful a smaller, indoor venue similar House of Blues. Still, they negociate to wed that awesome dependable prime with a signifier beingness that much intimately resembles that of a store band.
Half of their 12-song setlist came from their 4th workplace album, 2025’s Straight Line Was a Lie. This included a new-wave adjacent item successful “No Joy,” the dreamy, pulsing antidepressant anthem, “Take,” and the cerebral ballad, “Til My Heart Stops.” They added different two songs each from 2022’s Expert successful a Dying Field, 2020’s Jump Rope Gazers and their 2018 debut, Future Me Hates Me.
One wide standout was the jazz-nerd showcase, “Little Death,” wherever frenzied drumming accentuates a hook that sounds a spot similar an anime recognition series earlier the full-band showcases their method prowess successful a triumphant, harmonic breakdown.
Stokes besides had plentifulness of assistance from her bandmates successful betwixt songs. At 1 point, drummer Tristan Deck noted that helium was connected a “performance food” sweetener high, acknowledgment to the custard sundae helium grabbed aft riding the Big Apple Coaster astatine New York-New York. Elsewhere, bassist Benjamin Sinclair quipped astir playing connected a signifier wherever helium could perpetually spot video of himself performing and expressed his tendency to effort the venue’s heavy advertised “boozy milkshakes.”
The Auckland-bred Kiwis closed it retired on “Expert successful a Dying Field”—a way much listeners look to subordinate to implicit clip arsenic AI methodically headhunts astir of our careers. Here, ethereal lighting and keen vocal harmonies thrive alongside Stokes’ potent soprano on their signature jam.
Beach Bunny took to the signifier with a larger touring roster of five—including Trifilio and 2 further guitarists, positive a bassist and drummer who kept ticker from a brace of raised platforms. This squad proceeded to crockery retired a dense 20-song set, starting with the pairing of “Mr. Predictable” and “Ms. California.”
The set genuinely arrived with “Vertigo,” from its 3rd workplace album, 2025’s Tunnel Vision, which came aft Trifilio half-jokingly asked the assemblage to “open up the pit.” One of the hardest-hitting entries of the evening, it featured a bombastic mini-guitar solo woven betwixt the elite sad-girl hook of “I’m protecting myself from affectional healing.”
Throughout, Trifilio punctuates each tempo-shift with a peppy footwear oregon a twirl of her metallic and pinkish glitter-covered Fender Stratocaster. Playfully nudging astatine the pit for the adjacent fewer songs, she knowingly added, “I’m catching a vibe that immoderate of america might’ve ne'er been successful a mosh pit before.” She past offered a radical of timid younger fans immoderate assistance by requesting a impermanent female-only mosh.
Released successful 2018 arsenic the band’s debut single, “Sports” is simply a batch similar what “You Belong With Me” would person sounded similar if Taylor Swift had been acold deeper into the bleachers, adjacent the emo and theatre kids. They play it with intentionally punkier vigor live—deviating somewhat from the archetypal statement to adhd flair to a acquainted favorite.
That kicked disconnected a beardown mediate limb that included the confessionally-minded “Cuffing Season,” successful which Trifilio admits her ain acquainted existential inconsistencies successful the hook: “Sometimes I similar being connected my own. I’m acrophobic of winding up alone.” Next came the scrambled, peppery riffs of “Tunnel Vision,” positive an early-2000s pop-punk informed pushback connected unrealistic positivity successful their July single, “Year of the Optimist.”
Later, it played one of 2 songs that person by each accounts gone viral organically successful “Cloud 9.” I don’t person a TikTok, but this 1 seemingly blew up determination successful 2021—prompting Beach Bunny to merchandise a 2nd mentation with Tegan and Sara soon thereafter. It’s casual to spot why, arsenic it’s a cleanable unrecorded play bolstered by an upbeat, catchy chorus and an instrumental interruption that’s slathered successful recurring surf-rock seasoning.
The three-song encore started with “April,” wherever Trifilio again draws from surfier twang and fluttery drum licks to present 1 of her champion vocal performances of the night. Next was the band’s archetypal viral deed and 2018 single, “Prom Queen,” wherever it mixed successful immoderate heavier strumming and a distorted solo arsenic its leader raged against toxic taste norms.
“I’m nary quick-curl Barbie. I was ne'er chopped retired for Prom Queen,” Trifilio sang arsenic fans of each property and sex leapt astir successful the closest happening we saw to a existent pit each night.
“Painkiller,” besides from the band’s 2018 Prom Queen EP, was a deserving closer. Fueled by sleek rainbow lighting, this 1 summed up Beach Bunny perfectly—from its bedroom-pop meets surf-rock undertones, to heavier-than-expected instrumental segments and Trifilio’s ain biting and susceptible lyricism.
As a antheral successful his aboriginal 30s who chiefly listens to a wide scope of underground hip-hop and alternate indie acts, I person nary shame admitting that this amusement provided a much-needed palate cleanser. In the end, you can’t inquire for overmuch much than the brand of good, old-fashioned amusive that The Beths and Beach Bunny perfectly delivered on.
English (US)·