The Beths - "Mother, Pray for Me"

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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. I was born in Jakarta and we moved to Auckland when I was four. I think this song is me trying to understand my relationship with my mum, and her relationship to her faith and with her own mother. It was hard to write. We came up with a full band arrangement for the song, but in the end it seemed to feel the clearest with just me and the guitar. And a bit of organ.”

You can watch the video for "Mother, Pray for Me" below. Straight Line was a Lie is due out August 29 on ANTI-, and is available for pre-order here. For more on The Beths, check out the band's website. Upcoming tour dates are below the video and include December 1 and 2 at Royale in Boston and December 3 at Fete Music Hall in Providence.


Wed. Sept. 17 - Dublin, IE @ Button Factory ! [NEW SHOW]
Thu. Sept. 18 - Dublin, IE @ Button Factory ! [SOLD OUT]
Sat. Sept. 20 - Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall !
Sun. Sept. 21 - Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 TV Studio !
Mon. Sept. 22 - Leeds, UK @ Project House !
Wed. Sept. 24 - Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy !
Thu. Sept. 25 - Birmingham, UK @ XOYO !
Fri. Sept. 26 - London, UK @ Roundhouse !
Sat. Sept. 27 - Brighton, UK @ CHALK !
Mon. Sept. 29 - Tourcoing, FR @ Le Grand Mix !
Tue. Sept. 30 - Paris, FR @ Le Trabendo !
Wed. Oct. 1 - Brussels, BE @ Botanique !
Fri. Oct. 3 - Cologne, DE @ Kantine !
Sat. Oct. 4 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso !
Sun. Oct. 5 - Hamburg, DE @ Knust !
Tue. Oct. 7 - Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan !
Wed. Oct. 8 Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Scene !
Thu. Oct. 9 - Copenhagen, DK @ Pumpehuset !
Sat. Oct. 11 - Berlin, DE @ Lido !
Sun. Oct. 12 - Munich, DE @ Strom !
Mon. Oct. 13 - Zurich, CH @ Plaza !
Wed. Oct. 15 - Barcelona, ES @ Razzmatazz 2 !
Thu. Oct. 16 - Madrid, ES @ Nazca !
Fri. Oct. 17 - Lisbon, PT @ LAV !
Thu. Oct. 30 - Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel*
Fri. Oct. 31 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse *
Sat. Nov 1 - Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl *
Mon. Nov. 3 - Dallas, TX @ The Studio At The Bomb Factory *
Tue. Nov. 4 - Austin, TX @ Emo's *
Thu. Nov. 6 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren *
Fri. Nov. 7 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern * ^
Sat. Nov. 8 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore * [SOLD OUT]
Sun. Nov. 9 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore * [NEW SHOW]
Wed. Nov. 12 - Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades *
Fri. Nov. 14 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom *
Sat. Nov. 15 - Seattle, WA @ The Moore Theatre *
Sun. Nov. 16 - Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom *
Tue. Nov. 18 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall *
Wed. Nov. 19 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre *
Fri. Nov. 21 - Kansas City, MO @ The Truman *
Sat. Nov. 22 - St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre *
Sun. Nov. 23 - Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed (Indoor) * +
Tue. Nov 25 - Cleveland, OH @ Globe Iron *
Wed. Nov. 26 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Roxian Theatre *
Fri. Nov. 27 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall * [NEW SHOW]
Fri. Nov. 28 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall * [SOLD OUT]
Sat. Nov. 29 - Montreal, QC @ Beanfield Theatre *
Mon. Dec. 1 - Boston, MA @ Royale * [NEW SHOW]
Tue. Dec. 2 - Boston, MA @ Royale * [SOLD OUT]
Wed. Dec. 3 - Providence, RI @ Fete Music Hall *
Fri. Dec. 5 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount * #
Sat. Dec. 6 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer * [SOLD OUT]
Sun. Dec. 7 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer * [NEW SHOW]
Tue. Dec. 9 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club * [SOLD OUT]
Wed. Dec. 10 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club * [SOLD OUT]

! w/ Dateline
* w/ Phoebe Rings
^ w/ Bret McKenzie
+ w/ Squirrel Flower
# w/ illuminati hotties

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