Latest news with #ExpertInADyingField
Scoop
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
The Beths Announce New Album 'Straight Line Was A Lie' & Release New Single 'No Joy'
The Beths — the Auckland based quartet of vocalist Elizabeth Stokes, guitarist Jonathan Pearce, bassist Benjamin Sinclair, and drummer Tristan Deck — announce their new album, Straight Line Was A Lie —their first for their new label ANTI —out August 29th, and share the new single/video, 'No Joy.' The Beths know the futility of straight lines. Existential vertigo serves as the primary theme on the indie heroes' fourth album. The Beths posit that the only way round is through; that even after going through difficult, transformative experiences, you can still feel as though you've ended up in the same place. It's a bewildering thing, realising that life and personal growth are cyclical and continual. That a chapter doesn't always end with peace and acceptance. That the approach is simply continuing to try, to show up. 'Linear progression is an illusion,' Stokes explains. 'What life really is is maintenance. But you can find meaning in the maintenance.' The path from The Beths' critically celebrated and year-end-list-topping 2022 album Expert In A Dying Field to Straight Line Was A Lie was anything but straightforward. For the first time, Stokes was struggling to write new songs beyond fragments she'd recorded on her phone. She'd recently started taking an SSRI, which on one hand made her feel like she could 'fix' everything broken in her life, from her mental and physical health to fraught family dynamics. At the same time, writing wasn't coming as easily as it had before. ' I was kind of dealing with a new brain, and I feel like I write very instinctually,' she says. ' It was kind of like my instincts were just a little different, they weren't as panicky.' While Stokes felt a huge relief from taking an SSRI, she articulates the emotional trade-offs on today's single, 'No Joy,' which thunders in with Deck's vigorous percussion and drops another classic Beths soundbite: 'This year's gonna kill me/ Gonna kill me.' Ironically, though, the stress Stokes sings about can't touch her, thanks to her pharmaceutical regimen. She wants the feeling back. " It's about anhedonia, which, paradoxically, was there both in the worst parts of depression, and then also when I was feeling pretty numb on my SSRI,' Stokes says. ' It wasn't that I was sad, I was feeling pretty good. It was just that I didn't like the things that I liked. I wasn't getting joy from them. It's very literal.' In writing Straight Line Was A Lie, Stokes and Pearce broke down the typical Beths writing process. For inspiration, they read Stephen King's On Writing, How Big Things Get Done by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner, and Working by Robert A. Caro. Liz broke out a Remington typewriter (a birthday gift from Beths bassist Benjamin Sinclair) every morning for a month, writing 10 pages' worth of material — mostly streams of consciousness. The resulting stack of paper was the primary fodder for an extended writing retreat to Los Angeles between tours, where Stokes and Pearce also leaned heavily into LA's singular creative atmosphere, went to shows, watched Criterion classics from Kurosawa, and listened to Drive-By Truckers, The Go-Go's, and Olivia Rodrigo. Opening themselves up to a wave of creative input, plus Stokes' free-flowing writing routine, proved therapeutic. ' Writing so much down forced me to look at stuff that I didn't want to look at,' Stokes says. ' In the past, in my memories. Things I normally don't like to think about or I'm scared to revisit, I'm putting them down on paper and thinking about them, addressing them.' Already a celebrated lyricist, Stokes has long impressed fans and critics with wryly knowing song titles like 'Future Me Hates Me' and 'Expert In A Dying Field' — catchy, instant-classic turns of phrase that capture the personal and ladder up to the universal. But Stokes' intentional deconstruction and rebuilding of her relationship to writing, however, has resulted in a complete renewal. Her songwriting has achieved startling new depths of insight and vulnerability, making Straight Line Was A Lie the most sharply observant, truthful, and poetic Beths project to date. Following Liz Stokes's recent, sold–out solo show at Largo in Los Angeles with special guests Roz Hernandez, Courtney Barnett and Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords), The Beths announced a world tour across North America, the UK and Europe this fall. They'll headline some of their biggest venues to date, including The Wiltern in Los Angeles, The Fillmore in San Francisco, The Salt Shed in Chicago, Brooklyn Paramount in New York City, Union Transfer in Philadelphia, 9:30 Club in Washington, DC and more. A full list of dates is below, and tickets are now available here.
Scoop
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
The Beths Sign To ANTI; Release New Single/Video 'Metal'; Announce 49 Date Northern Hemisphere Tour
The Beths — the Auckland based quartet of vocalist Elizabeth Stokes, guitarist Jonathan Pearce, bassist Benjamin Sinclair, and drummer Tristan Deck — announce signing to LA based record label ANTI- and release the new single/video, ' Metal.' 'Metal' is the first taste of new music from the band since the release of 2023's Expert In A Dying Field (Deluxe), the expanded version of their #1 2022 album. Following Liz Stokes's recent, sold–out solo show at Largo in Los Angeles with special guests Courtney Barnett and Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords), The Beths announce a tour across North America, the UK and Europe for the northern hemisphere fall. The band returns to the U.S. for the first time since playing Coachella, Bonnaroo and Newport Folk Festival, and supporting The National, Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service in 2023-2024. They'll headline some of their biggest venues to date including The Wiltern in Los Angeles, The Fillmore in San Francisco, The Salt Shed in Chicago, Brooklyn Paramount in New York City, Union Transfer in Philadelphia, 9:30 Club in Washington, DC and more. Tickets go on sale Fri. May 2 (US) at 10am local and are available at Today's single 'Metal' was born out of a time of rigorous touring, mental health struggles, and several diagnoses for Stokes. 'In some ways 'Metal' is a song about being alive and existing in a human body,' she explains. 'That is something I have been acutely aware of in the last few years, where I have been on what one might call a 'health journey'. For parts of the last few years, I kind of felt like my body was a vehicle that had carried me pretty well thus far but was breaking down, something I had little to no control over. All of the steps in the Rube Goldberg machine of life are so unlikely, and yet here we are in it. I have a hunger and a curiosity for learning about the world around me, and for learning about myself. And despite all the ways that my body feels like a broken machine, I still marvel at the complexity of such a machine.' 'I can hold that knowledge in one hand, and yet with the other hand I can point to my reflection and just be like 'you are shit'. Or 'ugly'. Or 'worthless'. I can reliably respond to any suggestion that I might be able to achieve any small thing with 'no'. And these are variations of the 'short word' referenced in the song.' Sonically, the track sees The Beths fully embracing jangle rock. Stokes says, 'There was a propulsion to the acoustic strumming pattern on the original demo. Tristan's drums meet that feeling so perfectly, the feeling of a train pushing up the tracks. Jonathan got to play his Burns 12 string guitar as sparkly as he wanted, and Ben as usual can't be contained to the lower register. I think we ended up with an arrangement that embodies the frenetic intricacy of an engine in action. There's a lot going on, until there isn't.' The accompanying video, shot by long time collaborators Sports Team (Annabel Kean and Callum Devlin) was shot on a farm in Leigh and sees The Beths donning wet weather gear as they forage for metal. 2023's Expert In A Dying Field (Deluxe) expanded upon the brilliance of The Beths' acclaimed 2022 album, 'another collection of tunes that cements their status as one of the great guitar-pop bands of this present moment' (Stereogum). The third studio album from The Beths, Expert In A Dying Field was released to a wealth of critical praise, and was named one of 2022's best releases by the likes of Pitchfork, The Ringer, Stereogum and more. Surrounding its release, The Beths were profiled by Rolling Stone, made their U.S. television debut on CBS Saturday Morning, and performed an NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert, The Beths are undeniably one of the most exciting indie rock bands to emerge in recent memory. The Beths Tour Dates: Thu. Sept. 18 – Dublin, IE @ Button Factory 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 @ Krust 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 * 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. 28 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall * Sat. Nov. 29 – Montreal, QC @ Beanfield Theatre * Tue. Dec. 2 – Boston, MA @ Royale * Wed. Dec. 3 – Providence, RI @ Fete Music Hall * Fri. Dec. 5 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount * # Sat. Dec. 6 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer * Tue. Dec. 9 – Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club * * w/ Phoebe Rings ^ w/ Bret McKenzie + w/ Squirrel Flower # w/ illuminati hotties Praise for The Beths & Expert In A Dying Field '[On 'Expert in a Dying Field' Elizabeth Stokes] sounds brightly conversational but stretched to her limits over the band's rough-and-rumble power-pop, though the exuberant climax reveals a breakthrough: acceptance that carrying these memories is part of living, not dying.' — NPR, Best Songs of 2022 '…Stokes, guitarist Jonathan Pearce, bassist Benjamin Sinclair, and drummer Tristan Deck make music that has a sugar-rush immediacy and a craftsman-like attention to detail that invites close listening.' – Pitchfork 'Liz Stokes has proven herself to be an expert in another dying field: the perfectly crafted indie rock pop song.' — Brooklyn Vegan, Top 50 Albums of 2022 '[Expert In A Dying Field] cements their status as one of the great guitar-pop bands of this present moment.' — Stereogum 'The Beths are responsible for some of the best rock melodies of the last half-decade, and Dying Field is just another stop on the earworm express.' — Paste 'The [Beths'] latest iteration of their charming power pop style is leaner and cleaner than ever before, polished to a pristine gleam in perfect contrast to their yearning lyrical barbs.' — Under The Radar, Top 100 Albums of 2022 '[Expert In A Dying Field is] a truly amazing (and expert) slice of garage-born but stadium-worthy anthemia' — The Ringer, The 33 Best Albums of 2022.
Scoop
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
The Beths Sign To ANTI; Release New Single/Video; "Metal" Announce 49 Date Northern Hemisphere Tour
The Beths — the Auckland based quartet of vocalist Elizabeth Stokes, guitarist Jonathan Pearce, bassist Benjamin Sinclair, and drummer Tristan Deck — announce signing to LA based record label ANTI- and release the new single/video, ' Metal.' 'Metal' is the first taste of new music from the band since the release of 2023's Expert In A Dying Field (Deluxe), the expanded version of their #1 2022 album. Following Liz Stokes's recent, sold–out solo show at Largo in Los Angeles with special guests Courtney Barnett and Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords), The Beths announce a tour across North America, the UK and Europe for the northern hemisphere fall. The band returns to the U.S. for the first time since playing Coachella, Bonnaroo and Newport Folk Festival, and supporting The National, Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service in 2023-2024. They'll headline some of their biggest venues to date including The Wiltern in Los Angeles, The Fillmore in San Francisco, The Salt Shed in Chicago, Brooklyn Paramount in New York City, Union Transfer in Philadelphia, 9:30 Club in Washington, DC and more. Tickets go on sale Fri. May 2 (US) at 10am local and are available at Today's single 'Metal' was born out of a time of rigorous touring, mental health struggles, and several diagnoses for Stokes. 'In some ways 'Metal' is a song about being alive and existing in a human body,' she explains. 'That is something I have been acutely aware of in the last few years, where I have been on what one might call a 'health journey'. For parts of the last few years, I kind of felt like my body was a vehicle that had carried me pretty well thus far but was breaking down, something I had little to no control over. All of the steps in the Rube Goldberg machine of life are so unlikely, and yet here we are in it. I have a hunger and a curiosity for learning about the world around me, and for learning about myself. And despite all the ways that my body feels like a broken machine, I still marvel at the complexity of such a machine.' 'I can hold that knowledge in one hand, and yet with the other hand I can point to my reflection and just be like 'you are shit'. Or 'ugly'. Or 'worthless'. I can reliably respond to any suggestion that I might be able to achieve any small thing with 'no'. And these are variations of the 'short word' referenced in the song.' Sonically, the track sees The Beths fully embracing jangle rock. Stokes says, 'There was a propulsion to the acoustic strumming pattern on the original demo. Tristan's drums meet that feeling so perfectly, the feeling of a train pushing up the tracks. Jonathan got to play his Burns 12 string guitar as sparkly as he wanted, and Ben as usual can't be contained to the lower register. I think we ended up with an arrangement that embodies the frenetic intricacy of an engine in action. There's a lot going on, until there isn't.' The accompanying video, shot by long time collaborators Sports Team (Annabel Kean and Callum Devlin) was shot on a farm in Leigh and sees The Beths donning wet weather gear as they forage for metal. 2023's Expert In A Dying Field (Deluxe) expanded upon the brilliance of The Beths' acclaimed 2022 album, 'another collection of tunes that cements their status as one of the great guitar-pop bands of this present moment' (Stereogum). The third studio album from The Beths, Expert In A Dying Field was released to a wealth of critical praise, and was named one of 2022's best releases by the likes of Pitchfork, The Ringer, Stereogum and more. Surrounding its release, The Beths were profiled by Rolling Stone, made their U.S. television debut on CBS Saturday Morning, and performed an NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert, The Beths are undeniably one of the most exciting indie rock bands to emerge in recent memory. The Beths Tour Dates: Thu. Sept. 18 - Dublin, IE @ Button Factory 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 @ Krust 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 * 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. 28 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall * Sat. Nov. 29 - Montreal, QC @ Beanfield Theatre * Tue. Dec. 2 - Boston, MA @ Royale * Wed. Dec. 3 - Providence, RI @ Fete Music Hall * Fri. Dec. 5 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount * # Sat. Dec. 6 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer * Tue. Dec. 9 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club * * w/ Phoebe Rings ^ w/ Bret McKenzie + w/ Squirrel Flower # w/ illuminati hotties Praise for The Beths & Expert In A Dying Field '[On 'Expert in a Dying Field' Elizabeth Stokes] sounds brightly conversational but stretched to her limits over the band's rough-and-rumble power-pop, though the exuberant climax reveals a breakthrough: acceptance that carrying these memories is part of living, not dying.' — NPR, Best Songs of 2022 '…Stokes, guitarist Jonathan Pearce, bassist Benjamin Sinclair, and drummer Tristan Deck make music that has a sugar-rush immediacy and a craftsman-like attention to detail that invites close listening." - Pitchfork 'Liz Stokes has proven herself to be an expert in another dying field: the perfectly crafted indie rock pop song.' — Brooklyn Vegan, Top 50 Albums of 2022 '[Expert In A Dying Field] cements their status as one of the great guitar-pop bands of this present moment.' — Stereogum "The Beths are responsible for some of the best rock melodies of the last half-decade, and Dying Field is just another stop on the earworm express.' — Paste 'The [Beths'] latest iteration of their charming power pop style is leaner and cleaner than ever before, polished to a pristine gleam in perfect contrast to their yearning lyrical barbs.' — Under The Radar, Top 100 Albums of 2022 '[Expert In A Dying Field is] a truly amazing (and expert) slice of garage-born but stadium-worthy anthemia' — The Ringer, The 33 Best Albums of 2022.
