Recorded during the sessions for last year's phenomenal Expert in a Dying Field, "Watching the Credits" was left off that album, but luckily The Beths have decided to release the song as a standalone single. "Watching the Credits" is an indie rock power pop song that barrels along for it's three minute run time. The song is about frontwoman Elizabeth Stokes' habit of learning about movies without watching them. What's phenomenal about this song is how cinematic it is for a three minute pop song. It's almost done in three acts with a build, a climax, and an ending. It even has some strings just to tug at your emotions. If it isn't my imagination coming up with this concept, "Watching the Credits" is a wonderfully clever song that is quickly becoming one of my all time favorites from The Beths.
You can listen to "Watching the Credits" below. For more on The Beths, check out their website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video, including a stop at In Between Days Festival in Quincy, MA on August 19.
Wed. May 24 - Bristol, UK @ SWX Thu. May 25 - London, UK @ Electric Brixton Fri. May 26 - Walton-on-Trent, UK @ Bearded Theory Festival Sat. May 27 - Leeds, UK @ Live at Leeds in the Park Sun. May 28 - Manchester, UK @ New Century Tue. May 30 - Glasgow, UK @ The Garage Wed. May 31 - Dublin, IE @ Whelan’s Fri. June 2 - Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound Festival Sat. June 3 - Ellerdorf, DE @ Wilwarin Festival Sun. June 4 - Berlin, DE @ Frannz Club Mon. June 5 - Hamburg, DE @ Uebel & Gefählrich Tue. June 6 - Cologne, DE @ Gebäude 9 Thu. June 8 - Porto, PT @ Primavera Sound Festival Fri. June 9 - Madrid, ES @ Primavera Sound Festival Sat. June 10 - Dijon, FR @ VYV Festival Mon. June 12 - Nantes, FR @ Stereolux Tue. June 13 - Paris, FR @ Petit Bain Wed. June 14 - Lille, FR @ Aéronef Fri. June 16 - Kansas City, MO @ Boulevardia Festival Sat. June 17 - Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival Sun. June 18 - Birmingham, AL @ Saturn Tue. June 20 - Orlando, FL @ The Beacham Wed. June 21 - Tampa, FL @ Crowbar Thu. June 22 - Gainesville, FL @ High Dive Fri. July 14 - Utrecht, NL @ Ekko Sat. July 15 - Rotterdam, NL @ Rotown Sun. July 16 - Nijmegen, NL @ Valkhof Festival Tue. July 18 - Liverpool, UK @ Hangar 34 Wed. July 19 - Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK @ Boiler Shop Fri. July 21 - Southwold, UK @ Latitude Festival Sat. July 22 - Steventon, UK @ Truck Festival Sun. July 23 - Sheffield, UK @ Tramlines Festival Fri. July 28 - Newport, RI @ Newport Folk Festival Sat. July 29 - Omaha, NE @ Maha Festival Tue. Aug. 1 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia * [SOLD OUT] Wed. Aug. 2 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Met Philadelphia * Thu. Aug. 3 - New Haven, CT @ Westville Music Bowl * Fri. Aug. 4 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr Smalls Theatre Sat. Aug. 5 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom & Tavern Mon. Aug. 7 - Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore * Tue. Aug. 8 - Madison, WI @ The Sylvee * Wed. Aug. 9 - Minneapolis, MN @ The Armory * Fri. Aug. 11 - Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom * [SOLD OUT] Sat. Aug. 12 - Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom * Tue. Aug. 15 - Nashville, TN @ Ascend Amphitheater * Wed. Aug. 16 - Atlanta, GA @ Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park Thu. Aug. 17 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle Fri. Aug. 18 - Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage Sat. Aug. 19 - Quincy, MA @ In Between Days Festival Mon. Aug. 21 - Cincinnati, OH @ Woodward Theater Tue. Aug. 22 - Kalamazoo, MI @ Bell’s Eccentric Cafe Sun. Aug. 27 - Seattle, WA @ THING Sat. Sep. 30 - Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance Amphitheater ^ Sun. Oct. 1 - Grand Prairie, TX @ Texas Trust CU Theatre ^ Tue. Oct. 3 - Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre ^ [SOLD OUT] Wed. Oct. 4 - Las Vegas, NV @ The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas ^ [SOLD OUT] Fri. Oct. 6 - Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena ^ [SOLD OUT] Sat. Oct. 7 - Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena ^ [SOLD OUT] Mon. Oct. 9 - Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre ^ [SOLD OUT] Tue. Oct. 10 - Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre ^ [SOLD OUT] Wed. Oct. 11 - Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre ^ [SOLD OUT] Thu. Oct. 12 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room Fri. Oct. 13 - Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl ^ [SOLD OUT] Sat. Oct. 13 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room Sun. Oct. 15 - Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room Tue. Oct. 17 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg Wed. Oct. 18 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg Thu. Oct. 19 - Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg * w/ The National ^ w/ Death Cab For Cutie & The Postal Service
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....
