Beths (The) ‎– Future Me Hates Me

The Beths ‎– Future Me Hates Me 

Kiwi Indie-Rockers Debut 2018 Album

The Beths from New Zealand occupy a warm, energetic sonic space between joyful
hooks, sun-soaked harmonies, and acerbic lyrics. Their debut album Future Me Hates
Me, on Carpark Records, delivers an astonishment of roadtrip-ready
pleasures, each song hitting your ears with an exhilarating endorphin rush like the
first time you heard The Breeders/Jale/Veruca Salt..

Front and center on these ten infectious tracks is lead singer and primary songwriter
Elizabeth Stokes. Stokes has previously worked in other genres within Auckland’s rich
and varied music scene, recently playing in a folk outfit, but it was in exploring the
angst-ridden sounds of her youth that she found her place. “Fronting this kind of
band was a new experience for me,” says Stokes. “I never thought I had the right
voice for it.”

From the irresistible title track to future singles “Happy Unhappy” and “You Wouldn’t
Like Me,” Stokes commands a vocal range that spans from the brash confidence of
Joan Jett to the disarming vulnerability of Jenny Lewis. Further honeying Future Me
Hates Me’s dark lyrics that explore complex topics like being newly alone and the
self-defeating anticipation of impending regret, ecstatic vocal harmonies bubble up
like in the greatest pop and R+B of the ‘60s, while inverting the trope of the “sad
dude singer accompanied by a homogenous girl-sound.”
All four members of The Beths studied jazz at university, resulting in a toolkit of deft
instrumental chops and tricked-out arrangements that operate on a level rarely
found in guitar-pop. Beths guitarist and studio guru Jonathan Pearce (whose other
acts as producer include recent Captured Tracks signing Wax Chattels) brings it all
home with an approach that’s equal parts seasoned perfectionist and D.I.Y.
“There’s a lot of sad sincerity in the lyrics,” she continues, “that relies on the music
having a light heart and sense of humor to keep it from being too earnest.”
Channeling their stew of personal-canon heroes while drawing inspiration from
contemporaries like Alvvays and Courtney Barnett, The Beths serve up deeply
emotional lyrics packaged within heavenly sounds that delight in probing the limits of
the pop form. “That’s another New Zealand thing,” Stokes concludes with a laugh.
“We’re putting our hearts on our sleeves—and then ap

Tracklistings
1. Great No One
2. Future Me Hates Me
3. Uptown Girl
4. You Wouldn't Like Me
5. Not Running
6. Little Death
7. Happy Unhappy
8. River Run: Lvl 1
9. Whatever
10. Less Than Thou