Have you ever been turned on to a band, track and find it immediately ‘speaking to you’ or ‘registering’ in a deep place even if the content is not cerebral? This indecipherable feeling is what overcame me during my first listen of The Beth’s debut LP – Future Me Hates Me. This New Zealand fourtet have this fantastic mix of high energy, quirky post-punk pop made complete with harmonies that make you wish you could sing along. The beats are familiar while the composition, lyrics stand on their own delivered by the likeable Elizabeth Stokes in such an authentic manner you feel you are at the bar around the corner checking them out for the first time. On tracks like River Run: Lvl1 or Little Death – one is reminded of great ironic female pop leads likes Liz Phair before the tune develops into a riff that lets them own their own space, not just a female singer songwriter label. Meanwhile, tunes like Uptown Girl, clock in at a perfect pop 2:30 and makes one want to release that breakup angst and jump up and down in a frenzy – “I will go out tonight and drink the whole town dry / put poison in my wine and hope that your the one who dies.” Lead guitarist, Jonathan Pearce, should be commended for his ability to jump from wistful bright background Vampire Weekend to front and center riffs that help steer the path of the tracks, at times more so than vocals. Ms. Stokes appears to be writing from a point of pain, irony with a wistful ‘fuck it’ attitude towards whatever situation is motivating this outpouring all delivered with a sense of rising confidence that is not quite complete. I am sure it will come as this is certainly one of the best contenders for 2018 best albums – released on Carpark Records, this is a complete experience worth listening to now.
