The Beths

they're pretty new to me and just released their debut on carpark records, future me hates me, but i can't help but think they'll blow up at some point soon. they had the benefit of a pitchfork plug (that's where i first read about them). RIYL alvvays. the alvvays feel is always there because both bands are very skilled and concise in their playing with frontwomen that churn out hook after hook in their melodies. at other times the production and composition remind me a bit of the weezer blue album. i guess they're all jazz school friends in new zealand. on the alvvays thread i described them as "tightly composed hook-filled upbeat", and i still think that's right.

it makes me shake my fist to think that old turds like the foo fighters are STILL like the flagship main rock band or whatever (and U2?) when there are albums like this out there, which is kind of ironic because parts of the beths record remind me of the colour and the shape. but these songs are poppy as hell. almost half of the album (great no one, future me hates me, not running, little death, happy unhappy) could plausibly be a pop smash in any world containing justice. the chorus of the title track is always in my head. almost every song has a sequence that is just relentlessly catchy.

even with the songs that i don't like as much, i could imagine that the things that i don't like about them would really appeal to a lot of other people. for example, the enthusiastically positive backup vocals in "whatever" completely ruin the song for me. take them out, and it would sound like a really good posies song, i think. but that positivity would also make it a hit car commercial song or whatever. similarly, although i think the entire vocal approach (also backup heavy) on the closing "less than thou" is not good and doesn't really keep up with the more aggressive pace of the music, it also is reminiscent of fleetwood mac for some reason and i won't rule out coming around to it at some point.

i'm focusing too much on the songs i don't like as much, but the highlights of the album are constantly stuck in my head. i've shared their music with a few friends and they've had the same experience. only $14.99. buy now! (i don't know how much it costs)

it's hard to get my ass out of the house on most days but i would logroll my way to see them if they pass through here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQYhM48H5zs

Yeah, this album feels like an instant classic. There's a lot of things to love here, but I think it really comes down to the harmonies/backing vocals which are just incredible. I really hope people get behind them.

They remind me of Charli Bliss

Pfork compared them to the Courtneys (which is what brought me to the album), but that was a misdirect IMO.

I haven't bought it yet but, as I said on the Alvvays thread, I find it really enjoyable. The vocals are v pleasant.

They remind me of Charli Bliss

― nostormo

Yeah, I mentioned they could be this year's Charly Bliss on another thread. I also think there are moments that are a bit Courtney Barnett.

yeah this is great, one of those albums that isn't doing anything new but just has great songs and an infectious quality

I would like to defend the backing vox on "Whatever." I think they rule.

Also, "Not Running" is, despite its name, a fantastic song to run to.

Little Death is incredible

the EP preceding the album is excellent, too, in case anyone missed it

a little more jangle-y than charly bliss but the comparison definitely makes sense. this is about as good as this sort of music gets, i love it. every track is so densely packed with hooks

i see that they are playing at yah yahs this saturday night for $10!

when can we poll this album

this album is awesome btw, kitchen person otm about the harmonies

Little Death is incredible

― alpine static, Sunday, September 2, 2018 10:45 AM (three days ago)

addendum: Not Running -> Little Death -> Happy Unhappy is absolutely mind-melting.

this album is my new obsession

Great album!

addendum: Not Running -> Little Death -> Happy Unhappy is absolutely mind-melting.

― alpine static

Totally agree. The first few songs are great, but this run is when the album goes to the next level.

Album of the year for me now.

i love that sequence too

it's really only "you wouldn't like me" that interrupts the flow of the first 7 songs, but otherwise it's just one great song after another

Not totally similar but close enough that I would suggest that if you like this record you should check out the Luby Sparks record.

Reading this thread I had a feeling I'd love this band (probably because anything compared to Charly Bliss immediately catches my eye), and yup, I love it a ton. From front to back, great record. It's not as good as Guppy, but it does offer similar pop punk-styled thrills. Personally, it's all about the opening of Great No One for me. I just remember hearing that guitar riff and vocal melody and thinking to myself "shit, I'm doomed to listen to this record every day for the rest of the month, aren't i?"

The harmonies on Whatever are fine imo, but the "whoa-a-oh-a-oh" and "oo-OO-oo-OO-ooooo" harmonies on Happy Unhappy and Uptown Girl, respectively, don't sound very good? They're just way too cutesy and on-the-nose for me. Which is a shame because they're excellent songs otherwise.

but yeah, this is definitely making my top 10 in the ilx 77 poll

this is pretty nice but I don't hear the Charly Bliss comparison at all, the energy levels are totally different

Yeah, I can’t figure out what I think of the harmonies. On some songs I think they’re fine and on others I just want them to go away. I think I just get fatigued with them after a while, so my tolerance for them depends on whether or not I’m skipping around or listening to the album all the way through.

I woke up with the chorus of the title track in my head several days in a row last week. Very catchy song but kind of becoming a living nightmare. You’re killing me, Beths!

there's a dry boredom conveyed by liz stokes' singing that i think contrasts quite strongly with the singer of charly bliss, who i think doesn't sound that different to carly rae jepsen at her most saccharine.

this is pretty nice but I don't hear the Charly Bliss comparison at all, the energy levels are totally different

That's my impression too. I said something similar in another thread, but Charly Bliss is an uninhibited joy bomb while The Beths feel a bit more studied and controlled—not bad qualities, but very much not what Charly Bliss is doing.

closer cousins for me are the aforementioned Alvvays, Best Coast, or even Standard Fare. anyway this is a great record!

^ yep

they both have a power pop sound reminiscent of the blue album but better, though they go in different directions with it

What part of what Beths song sounds like Weezer??

while we're throwing out people we hear I mostly hear Tuscadero

What part of what Beths song sounds like Weezer??

― Johnny Fever

The chorus of River Run Lvl 1 is probably the closest they come to Weezer.

i didn't really get the Charly Bliss comparison either, other than they're both pop-rock bands. vocals are far too different.

i can't quite nail down who i think they sound like except it's hard to get away from Courtney Barnett because of the accents.

this is really so excellent

man this rules

wow, they're playing a *tiny* room near where some of my friends live in oct. i think i will go.

Little Death is perfect.
I wish the rest of the album was more edgy and little less power ppp like this track.

What part of what Beths song sounds like Weezer??

This album reminds me of a lot of 90's power-pop that I had forgotten about, but loved dearly at the time: Velocity Girl, Jason Faulkner, Brendan Benson.

Thanks, Karl, for the heads-up on this band (I saw your post about them on the alvvays thread). They're playing a tiny room in my town too... either they booked this tour before they had any sort of traction at all, or no one besides the people on this thread are listening to them.

Also, this is totally OTM:

The harmonies on Whatever are fine imo, but the "whoa-a-oh-a-oh" and "oo-OO-oo-OO-ooooo" harmonies on Happy Unhappy and Uptown Girl, respectively, don't sound very good? They're just way too cutesy and on-the-nose for me. Which is a shame because they're excellent songs otherwise.

― josh az (2011nostalgia), Wednesday, September 5, 2018 11:53 PM

(i still love the album though)

i thought of That Dog and went and reminded myself of Totally Crushed Out ... close-ish, not quite right, but my next step was going to be Velocity Girl

I'm not invested enough in this band to play a long game of spot the inspiration, but if you're listening to "Little Death" and the strongest comparison you can make is Weezer, then that's what you *want to* be hearing. It's not there.

The chorus of River Run Lvl 1 is probably the closest they come to Weezer.

This checks out.

is the inspection over

xposts enochroot

jealous of the small room opportunity! they played a relatively small venue here (empty bottle) but it was just before i started listening to them.

but if you're listening to "Little Death" and the strongest comparison you can make is Weezer, then that's what you *want to* be hearing. It's not there.

This always happens me when I try to point out to my wife people who look like other people: she never sees it, because I think she's expecting to see an exact clone, rather than a few shared characteristics.
A band's output is similarly complex, nuanced, and unique, so seeing the similarities really depends on how much you're willing to squint and ignore the details.

btw, i'm rapidly zero-ing in on "Not Running" as my favorite track on the album.

for what it's worth they do say they were going for weezer

https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/news/14777/Interview-The-Beths-Talk-About-Their-Debut-Album-Future-Me-Hates-Me.utr

that’s just what they *want* to be hearing

This was a weird thread detour. If other people hear it and the band says they intended it, fine. They're doing a Weezer thing.

I still barely hear it, but also I'm not deeply taken with this album anyway (it's fine). Enjoy!

it's not top tier beths but it's still rather good

it's not astounding like "out of sight" or "silence is golden" but the backing vocal arrangements are still enough to put it above most similar jangle pop

when i put this to slimon sometimes of this parish he did say it was likely there'd be some more conventionally spectacular stuff on the album, will be tuning in

The guitar intro reminds me of something really specific I can't place, might be something by the Field Mice? Song is good though!

I instantly thought of The Cure.

The Beths are one of only a few bands I've introduced to my friend that he actually likes. We're going to see them on this leg of the tour, very excited :)

no budo is right "and i'm a collaboration" is a pre-chorus and there is exactly one (1) chorus in this song and it's at 3:22 when she goes "knooooooooooow" and that's that

the real mystery is WHAT is the short word that she sees???????

When I first heard Expert in a Dying Field a few years ago, it didn't land for me. I didn't even give them enough attention to warrant such arguments as Ghost Club and imago were making upthread, but I suspect mine would have been similar. I think I was recommended them when looking for something similar to Wolf Alice, and they weren't as 1990s-alternative-edgy as I was hoping for. They do have similarities to Wolf Alice songs like Bros or Lisbon. It's likely I only listened to the first two tracks and didn't even make it to Silence is Golden. Anyway, I gave them another chance this past week and it's an album I can just keep spinning over and over again on repeat. All the songs are stuck in my head.

The title track came out right as I ended a long term relationship and man it hit hard. Loved this band before that but it definitely placed them in my all time list.

Their first two albums are brilliant, too, (Even better, imo, but YMMV.)

No better melody maker out there than Liz.

Album out on August 29th.

https://thebethsnz.bandcamp.com/album/straight-line-was-a-lie

2025 has been saved!

Whee, just got a ticket to see them live later this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-YWoVuqtp0

new single's good too

I prefer Metal, but this is great too. The recorder break really makes the song.

Liz/Jonathan live session on Radio New Zealand:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyjI71T-KEg

"Metal", new track "Mosquitos", "Jump Rope Gazers", "Expert In A Dying Field" and a lovely cover of Polyester's balearic-twee trans* anthem "Different For A Boy".

Beautiful set. Mosquitos is a stunner and one of the best songs on the new album.

Absolutely devastating song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v71QgHSMpnk

Beautiful. Almost hymn-like.

lol I teared up listening to this on my lunch break today

Great song, but I was just revisiting last year's Lauren Mayberry album, which also features a mom ballad, and now I feel like I'm gonna get these mixed up.

Kacey Musgraves' mom song is very short, and one of my favorites

Title track is out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU0Q8DKWhQk

All their title tracks rule.

saw them at the bowery ballroom tonight and all the new songs are sounding good -- 'no joy' was my least favorite mostly due to the audience each being handed a recorder upon entry and, despite a cute lesson from jonathan and ben up front, it's unpleasant to hear 600 of those instruments being played at once

great band

lol

that sounds fun but also absolutely fucking awful

Not a big fan but they come across as really endearing in this What's In My Bag:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-btvpq8B6zc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syr1XPzrAfE

the recorder thing indeed sounds like a nightmare lmao

new album is great, they really can do no wrong

I love how emo some of this album is.

Take and Best Laid Plans are my highlights, but it's all so great.

feels like these guys are so good that it is hard to say new things about them. very high-level songwriting as always, and it feels like they always find new tricks in the performance or the arrangement to keep things from getting boring. i really like "metal" (they've never sounded so much like the cure) and "roundabout" in the way they mix in jangly acoustic guitar, and the bizarre recorder break in "no joy" has no reason to work as well as it does.

there isn't a high as high as "silence is golden" imo, but it's possibly my favorite since the debut?

I loved the pre-release singles but this is a bit too much of a bummer overall. Like very well done as always but I love the other ones more. So far...

It's definitely a sadder album.

Sorry, that's not much of a post. I've listened to it once in full. I need a few more spins to digest it. I really liked Mosquitos, on that listen.

Really enjoyed Liz going through the album here. She talks about why the album is so sad.

https://www.stereogum.com/2320940/the-story-behind-every-song-on-the-beths-new-album-straight-line-was-a-lie/music/

clearly the next album will be the synthesizer album. can't wait

there isn't a high as high as "silence is golden" imo, but it's possibly my favorite since the debut?

yeah i agree with this

The last album was all about the title track and 2AM for me. I probably would put those above everything here (although Take is close), but overall this is more consistent and easily my favourite since the debut as well. Every song hits so hard in a very different way.

I was actually trying to think of the last time a band began their career with four albums I loved as much as these. The Cardigans and Saint Etienne were the only examples I could think of.

Thanks for that article, kitchen person! So in-depth! It's funny that you mention consistent, because I'm sure that you mean consistent in quality, but as mentioned in the article, the sequencing itself is inconsistent, leading to what they call a whiplash quality at times.

With 3 more listens under my belt, I'm definitely on board with the album as a whole. Metal is still my favorite, and Mosquitos, as mentioned above. Also really big on Til My Heart Stops, Roundabout, and Best Laid Plans.

Never change, unless you do. Unless you want to.

The previous album is perfect imo, one of my favourites of the decade - I don't love this one as much yet, but I think it will grow on me. Today I've been replaying Til My Heart Stops, appreciate how it's a less frothy take on "Knees Deep".

I was actually trying to think of the last time a band began their career with four albums I loved as much as these.

It's rare, for sure. Next step is to see if Alvvays can match 'em. To me - and I may have said this upthread, and if so, my apologies - those two bands have been more or less neck and neck with each release so far. (Disregard the release dates and pace of releases, obvs.)

The Beths just had most of their musical instruments stolen while on tour in Tourcoing, France.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DPMU4btDHhc/?img_index=1

sacre bleu!

I felt so proud of them watching this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j42HHzUW1H0

Saw them the other night. So much fun. Unsurprisingly tight. Good mix of older and newer stuff. Played like an hour and a half.

i saw them friday as well, they were fantastic. i also liked their opening band, also from new zealand, who had kind of a city pop sound to them

Phoebe Rings!

https://phoeberings.bandcamp.com/album/aseurai

Their only ILx mention was ... me, five years ago, in this thread, ha:

The release show at the Powerstation last night was p.fun, though a bit nerve-wracking to be in such a tightly-packed crowd for the first time since lockdown. Title track of the new album worked really well live, "I'm Not Getting Excited" was a great set-opener, and for "Dying To Believe" they dragged out Rose Matafeo and local Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick. Opener Phoebe Rings was a jazz-school-y take on Stereolab/Cocteau Twins, and had the Beths' bassist Ben guest on clarinet for a track.
[...]

― etc, Sunday, July 12, 2020 3:21 AM (five years ago)

Gonna grab tix to see the em next week!

joining the chorus of how incredible and life affirming this band is live. and they were pretty adorable when i saw them in Sacramento, talking about having been to their first NBA game the night before

I was glad the Vancouver audience echoed my hatred for the damned gastown Steam Clock.