Beach Bunny Explores the Intricacies of Self Sabotage in ‘Tunnel Vision’
When we needed them most, the alt-rock giants returned. Known for their catchy blend of bedroom-pop and rock (and singer Lili Trifilio’s sparkling voice), Beach Bunny first gained widespread popularity in 2018 with their song “Prom Queen,” and critical acclaim two years later with their first album, ‘Honeymoon.’ You might also know them from “Cloud 9,” a song that was used in over 2 million videos on TikTok. Since then, they’ve gone on to release a second album, ‘Emotional Creature,’ and an EP; ‘Tunnel Vision’ is the first release from the band in nearly two years – and thank goodness for it.
“Mr. Predictable” explores an interesting tension between two extremes – anxiety for the future, and a stubborn insistence on ignoring it: “You want the world to be Mr. Predictable / You want your life to seem a bit intentional / So fake it 'til you make it, but you're gonna hit a wall / You don't really know me, I don't know me at all.” Trifilio’s clear, bright vocals tinge the track with nostalgia, softening the speaker’s frustration with an air of resignation.
“Big Pink Bubble” is extremely relatable in its themes of finding “control in avoidance.” There’s comfort in protecting yourself from confrontation, a kind of safety that comes with not looking things in the face no matter how destructive it may be. “I wanna pick the scabs off all my scratches To make it hurt less now,” Trifilio sings; the temporary comfort of evading conflict may seem to be the better option, but that’s all it is – temporary. The bridge, she says, is “the most pathetic moment on the record,” a moment of victimization, of why me?, rather than owning up to one’s faults. In Trifilio’s own words, the track is “quintessential Beach Bunny,” melodic and snappy in its delivery.
The titular “Tunnel Vision” is undoubtedly one of the album’s standout with its proto-pop-punk chorus and candid lyrics. Trifilio beautifully highlights the discomfort that comes with growing up, the frustrating notion of having to make mistakes in order to learn: “I feel like a creature / Trying to learn how to exist,” then, “I'm on the run, choking the gun / Constantly in contradiction.” The song deftly depicts the exasperation one often has at being trapped in their own head, confined to their singular worldview. “I don't trust my own opinions and my intuitions,” Trifilio sings frankly, a thought we’ve all had at one point or another. Growing up is a series of maddening trials and errors, though it always seems to feel like we’re alone in having to learn.
“Vertigo,” the album’s first single, also reads to me like a “quintessential Beach Bunny song” – it’s a captivating tune dealing with the nature of self-sabotage, of why we find ourselves with a perverse pull towards destruction. The speaker labels healing as something dangerous for themself, something they need to be protected from, but also exhibits a self-awareness of these harmful habits: “I’ve got a strange obsession / Of mixing love and loss, but at what cost?”; they call their baggage pretty, but also lament that their jealousy and flaws didn’t fade with age. It’s paradoxical and spiraling in the way humans often are, fittingly underscored by moody guitar and jagged drumlines.
‘Tunnel Vision,’ like much of Beach Bunny’s music, feels both cohesive to their signature sound and new, a fresh body of work that still exists within the same world. Its production is clean, and its melodies are catchy, making for a solid indie-rock album that’s bound to give you an earworm. Catch Beach Bunny on their international tour this year here.
