The Beaches - Blame My Ex

No sophomore slump for this femme-rock quartet. Toronto sisters Jordan and Kylie Miller and friends Leandra Earl and Eliza Enman-McDaniel have bounced back from relationship breakups and major record label rejection. Like modern-day Go-Gos or Bangles, the Beaches employ infectious pop songs celebrating freedom and sisterhood, as on the viral hit “Blame Brett,” a wry kiss-off to Jordan’s real-life ex, Brett Emmons of the Glorious Sons. “I’m done dating rock stars,” she sings, “from now on only actors, tall boys from the Raptors.” More than a breakup album, the winning collection also includes the defiant “Everything is Boring” and the dreamy hymn to horniness, “My Body ft Your Lips.”