| Track | Album |
|---|---|
| Future Me Hates Me | Future Me Hates Me |
| Great No One | Future Me Hates Me |
| You Wouldn’t Like Me | Future Me Hates Me |
| I’m Not Getting Excited | Jump Rope Gazers |
| Dying To Believe | Jump Rope Gazers |
| Expert In A Dying Field | Expert In A Dying Field |
| Watching The Credits | Expert In A Dying Field (Deluxe Ed) |
| Straight Line Was A Lie | Straight Line Was A Lie |
| No Joy | Straight Line Was A Lie |
| Mosquitoes | Straight Line Was A Lie |
I always have mixed feelings writing up an artist who remains active, particularly one who—hopefully—has more years and more great music ahead of them. On the one hand, you’re evaluating a work in progress, which may become outdated before you know it; plus, without a few years of hindsight, the choices may be based more on the immediacy of certain songs, rather than reflecting a judgment benefited by years of repeat listens.
On the plus side, it’s a great chance to turn readers on to a band they may not have heard while that band is still a going concern, and for them to discover an artist whose best work may not already be behind them.
And the Beths are certainly the sort of act, if you don’t know them yet, you’ll want to discover while they’re still going strong. The Auckland, New Zealand quartet, led by singer/songwriter Elizabeth Stokes (hence the name), are one of the more exciting indie bands of the past decade; and given that their most recent record—their fourth—may very well be their best to date, it seems likely they’ve got more great music ahead of them.
The Beths most comfortably slot in as pop-punk, an old-fashioned two-guitar-bass-and-drums act, though the relentless catchiness of their hooks, and the guileless girl-next-door sunshine of Stokes’s delivery (sometimes belying some bittersweet lyrics), tilt them more towards perky power pop with an indie edge. Bonus points for being the rare band which—decades past the demise of MTV—make the effort to craft entertaining videos, oozing with charm.
Their 2016 debut EP, Warm Blood, was already the work of a surprisingly confident band, energetic indie pop songs that already felt fully-developed, albeit with some rough edges. But it was their 2018 full-length, Future Me Hates Me, that established the band as one of the freshest acts in years. The title track in particular immediately illustrates their strengths, an unexpectedly infectious guitar hook coupled with wonderfully clever lyrics laying out the tale of a woman about to make a terrible romantic choice she knows she’ll come to regret. “Wide-eyed nights late lying awake, with future cold shakes from stupid mistakes, future me hates me for…” It’s a remarkably sophisticated take on a break-up song.
That track alone would make the album one of the best debuts in recent memory, but it turns out there are another fistful of songs every bit as catchy. Opening number Great No One shows them already masters of dynamics, kicking off with a muffled, minimalist sound before they open things up with effervescent guitar jangle and another earworm chorus. You Wouldn’t Like Me works similar dynamics, pivoting back and forth between restrained verses and bursts of punk-pop energy in the choruses, elevating the track with some attention-grabbing harmonies.
The 2020 follow-up, Jump Rope Gazers, confirmed the debut was no fluke. They don’t make any significant alterations, but from the opening notes of I’m Not Getting Excited, with its rapid-fire staccato guitar attack (kudos to guitarist and producer Jonathan Pearce for giving the band a riveting edge) and Stokes’s vocal gymnastics, one has to marvel at the band’s ability to concoct almost absurdly catchy songs that don’t sound like retreads. And before you can even catch your breath, they’re on to Dying To Believe, the record starting to sound like any other band’s greatest hits collection. The rest of the album can’t quite live up to that initial one-two punch, a bit less consistent than the debut, but there are still plenty of other solid numbers.
If some of Gazers’ lesser (but still solid) tracks called into question the Beths’ staying power, they shut that down on the next one, 2022’s Expert In A Dying Field. Once again, the title track is downright remarkable. This time, they slow things down a bit, showing they can hold your attention not just with furious amped-up riffs, but gentler mid-tempo pop that gives Stokes’s thoughtful lyrics and ingratiating vocals more room to shine. And don’t let the shortage of Top 10 picks from the album fool you; it’s loaded with great songs, both the expected upbeat rockers (i.e. Silence Is Golden) and their growing confidence in softer tunes (i.e. Knees Deep).
Indeed, the overall consistency of Dying Field is emphasized by one of the best songs they recorded being relegated to an outtake. Which seems weird, as Watching The Credits, a bit more skewed than their more straightforward pop songs, is at least as good as much of the record (it was included on a deluxe reissue).
Which brings us to their most recent release, 2025’s Straight Line Was A Lie. Four long players in, and it’s arguably their best yet, the team continuing to come up with new spins on traditional hook-filled power pop while confidently expanding their breadth. The album comes from a place of sadness, some stark, introspective lyrics contrasting with Stokes’s always inviting delivery. The opening title track is as catchy a pop song as we’ve seen this decade, while Stokes tosses off seemingly effortless metaphors that wrap her disappointment in something much more palatable. No Joy is a bit of a throwback, the band’s earlier pop-punk meshed with the 80s new wave of the Waitresses, while Stokes’ current state of existential angst is more front and center.
But the album’s real gem is Mosquitoes. While I tend to cue up the band’s records when I’m in the mood for some volume, this one’s a mid-tempo ballad, absolutely lovely. They’re once again working some thoughtful wordplay, the devastation left behind by a local flood standing in for something far more personal and adaptable. It’s the kind of Beths song I almost skip over on first listen in search of the more rousing pop hooks, yet over the course of the past year has become something I simply can’t stop playing.
Marc Fagel is a semi-retired securities lawyer living outside San Francisco with his wife and his obscenely oversized music collection. He is the author of the rock lover’s memoir Jittery White Guy Music. His daily ruminations on random albums and songs in his collection can be seen on his blog of the same name, or by following him on Twitter.
Marc’s previous posts include Rain Parade, Death Cab For Cutie, Jayhawks, Built to Spill, Lilys, Dressy Bessy, Mary Lou Lord, Amy Rigby, Young Fresh Fellows, Josh Ritter, Hold Steady, Game Theory, Reivers, Shazam, Guided By Voices, Connells, Big Audio Dynamite, Sleater-Kinney, Liz Phair, Apples In Stereo, Sweet, Bats, Matthew Sweet, Badfinger, New Pornographers, Bettie Serveert, Flaming Lips, Neil Young, My Morning Jacket, Raveonettes, Phish, Luna, Jesus and Mary Chain, Feelies, Genesis, Wilco, King Crimson, Brian Eno, and the Elephant 6 Collective.
TopperPost #1,201
Quintessence
No arguments about that list, but I’ll add a personal favourite. With the world in the grip of Covid, the concert at Auckland Town Hall on 6th November 2020, post Jump Rope Gazers, was an emotional experience for all of us at a time when live gigs were a rarity and the future was uncertain. Liz described it as a “mix of anxiety and simple joy”, and following the encore was overcome, as many of us were, and burst into tears. The last song of the gig was River Run: Lvl 1 and for these reasons, it would have to be in my top ten.
The concert film is in full on YouTube.