At this point, The Beths releasing a fantastic indie rock/pop song isn't a huge story. The New Zealand band just keeps cranking out great single after great single seemingly at ease. But something is just different about their latest. "Knees Deep" leans a little more towards the pop side of things. It's a little bit cleaner and more polished than what we normally hear from The Beths, but in a fantastic way. "Knees Deep" is the kind of song that should be a huge crossover hit, and it still could be if there is any justice in the world. It's undeniably catchy with mesmerizing guitar work. If you've somehow avoided jumping on The Beths' bandwagon so far, this one will basically force you onboard.
Singer/guitarist Liz Stokes says of the new single:
“I'm the kind of person who wants to go swimming, but takes like ten minutes to get all the way into the cold water, slowly and painfully. I hate this about myself, and am kind of envious of people who can just jump straight in the deep end. In a shocking twist, this is also a metaphor?! For how I wish I was the kind of person who was brave and decisive instead of cautious and scared.”
You can watch the video for "Knees Deep" below. Expert in a Dying Field is due out September 16 on Carpark Records, and can be pre-ordered here. For more on The Beths, check out the band's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video.
Mon. Aug. 22 - Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall
Tue. Aug. 23 - Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry
Thu. Aug. 25 - Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar
Fri. Aug. 26 - Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes
Sat. Aug. 27 - Portland, ME @ Portland House of Music
Sun. Aug. 28 - Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz PDB
Wed. Aug. 31 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Hall
Thu. Sep. 1 - Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar
Thu. Sep. 15 - Melbourne, AU @ 170 Russell
Fri. Sep. 16 - Sydney, AU @ Metro Theatre
Sat. Sep. 17 - Brisbane, AU @ The Triffid
Tue. Sep. 20 - Adelaide, AU @ The Gov
Wed. Sep. 21 - Perth, AU @ Magnet House
Fri. Sep. 23 - Wellington, NZ @ Opera House
Sat. Sep. 24 - Nelson, NZ @ Theatre Royal
Fri. Sep. 30 - Christchurch, NZ @ James Hay Theatre
Sat. Oct. 1 - Dunedin, NZ @ The Glenroy
Fri. Oct. 7 - Auckland, NZ @ Auckland Town Hall
Thu. Feb. 16 - Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
Fri. Feb. 17 - Seattle, WA @ Neumos
Wed. Feb. 22 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
Fri. Feb. 24 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Sun. Feb. 26 - Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre
Tue. Feb. 28 - Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
Thu. Mar. 2 - New York, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
Fri. Mar. 3 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Sat. Mar. 4 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Mon. Mar. 6 - Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
Tue. Mar. 7 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade - Heaven
Somehow Peter Prescott of Mission of Burma and Volcano Suns has another band that I never knew about. Minibeast already released an album that I completely missed back in 2012, and they are currently at work on the follow up, Free Will. Based on a track from the upcoming album, "High Sea," Minibeast shares some common sonic ground with Mission of Burma, but with an added emphasis on the groovy side of things. It's basically the noise and dissonance of Burma but heard through a 60s surf groove, as if Frankie and Annette were punks. You can listen to "High Sea" below. Minibeast currently have a Kickstarter to help fund the final production of Free Will. You can get more information on that here . It should be out sometime in June.
Earlier this week I was expressing sympathy for Limp Bizkit. Limp Bizkit just don't seem to be riding that surge of 90s nostalgia that all sorts of other terrible bands from that era are. Sure, they're terrible. But are they really that much worse than Filter, Alien Ant Farm, and other bands on those 90s nostalgia packages. And then this video is released. The first lyrics to the song are literally "Go fuck yourself." It then features Fred Durst sitting on a toilet, bikini clad chicks pretending to fellate garden hoses and leaf blowers, and Fred Durst talking about fucking bitches, all while wearing a hoodie and a backwards red baseball hat. Then Lil Wayne comes out. Please keep in mind Fred Durst is a 42 year old man.
Photo by Annabel Kean For their latest single, New Zealand's The Beths have released "Mother, Pray for Me." This is a heartbreaking ballad consisting of Elizabeth Stokes' vocals and guitar with just the slightest hint of organ. It's a deeply personal song for Stokes, made obvious with how intimately the song comes across. It truly feels almost confessional, and it's quite simply beautiful. The Beths are most known for huge little indie rock gems perfect for bopping along to, but "Mother, Pray for Me" is quite the opposite. Stokes' vocals and lyrics are right up front on this one, and I can't imagine it any other way. Elizabeth Stokes says of her latest single: “I cried the whole time writing it. It's not really about my mother, it's about me — what I hope our relationship is, what I think it is, what it maybe actually is, and what I can or can't expect out of it. “My mother is a first gen Indonesian immigrant, and very Catholic....
