Kiwi indie-rock outfit The Beths released their debut album ‘Future Hates Me’ in 2018 to critical acclaim, and their follow-up release ‘Jump Rock Glazers’ sees them inject their crunchy hooks with pop fervour, while traversing moodier lyrical territory. The new record speaks to anxiety and self-doubt, chronicling high-pressure situations endured with one’s inner circle of pals, to eventually find catharsis in reflection.
We asked The Beths to fill us in on the records that have laid the groundwork for their multi-faceted sound.
The Cars — ‘The Cars’ (1975)
If we ever get stuck for ideas we fall back on this album. Their songwriting is packed with quirks and tricks that are endlessly inspiring. A fantastic intersection of power-pop and guitar-rock that satisfies on many levels.
Lomelda — ‘Thx’ (2017)
Listening to this again at the time of writing just stopped me in my tracks. It’s so emotionally hard-hitting but in a way that is gentle and embracing. Hannah’s voice is raw and honest and her delivery sounds like it’s constantly on the cusp of breaking up. So many of her songs have a linear flow to them that allows for narrative and lyrical freedom that is often hard to attain in a verse-chorus song.
The Naenae Express — ‘The Naenae Express’ (2018)
One of the great masterpieces from the late 2010’s Karangahape Road music scene. Singer and songwriter Scott Kendall delivers a series of songs that chug along beautifully at tempos that no one had previously discovered. Thick and saturated guitar tones pour from NZ made 1960s Jansen and Concord amps to create something that sounds achingly local. Scott also loves to pen songs about cricket so definitely gets a big tick there.
Bressa Creeting Cake — ‘Bressa Creeting Cake’ (1997)
One of the greatest records to appear on NZ’s Flying Nun label. Bressa Creeting Cake inhabit the beautiful transparent sound that is found on so many 1990s pop/rock records but they’ve stripped away any glamour and bullshit to give you something much more candid. These songs are unusual. The lyrics don’t perform the way you expect them to and neither do the chord progressions, but the gorgeous melodic writing and genuine performances make it instantly approachable, and a satisfyingly deep listen if you give it some time.
Slagheap — ‘Slagheap’ (2019)
Two years later, Daft Punk’s ‘Homework’ made its way to me. It was some of the first really “electronic/housey” sounding music I’d paid attention to. It was a new sound, and I stayed listening for a minute! Similar to the Fatboy record it was comprised mostly of samples; the way Daft Punk used the samples was totally different, though. It was more repetitive, whilst also being more progressive, and at times really unexpected rhythmically.
Vivid memories of 10-year-old me on car trips skipping between tracks 3, 6, and 10 come to mind. “Revolution 909”, “Fresh”, and “High Fidelity”. That shit was awesome. The more obvious hits “Around the World” & “Da Funk” are also great tunes, but those three were just what I kept coming back to every time.
Check out the video for ‘Jump Rope Gazers” title track here:
Header image: Mason Fairey