Indie quartet The Beths released their third album Expert In A Dying Field this week.
Band members Liz Stokes, Jonathan Pearce, Benjamin Sinclair and Tristan Deck join mega-fan Jesse Mulligan to have a chat and play some new tracks.
The Beths and Jesse Photo: RNZ
The Beths are just back from their second 2022 tour of the United States - which Liz describes as "a big country with a lot of cities".
They played a lot of shows, including a couple with Australian folk singer Courtney Barnett and Alvvays - a Canadian band they're big fans of.
Depending on the size of a venue, it's quite a different experience for the band, Jonathan says.
"When you're in the small venues you focus on the first couple of rows really hard… and they're really in your personal space so you get a really personal reaction from about 25 people in the room.
"In the bigger shows, it's a bit easier to understand how the audience as a whole is feeling … and which songs are reaching the back row and all that."
The Beths are well-known for their album design and the Expert In A Dying Field cover art is by Lily Paris West from Wellington band Mermaidens.
Unusually, the band have sold more vinyl records than they have social media followers, Jonathan says.
"We sell [records] after gigs, we love signing them…we tried to make this one really beautiful."
Expert In A Dying Field is the third album from The Beths, following their 2018 debut Future Me Hates Me and 2020's Jump Rope Gazer.
Because of the pandemic, they didn't get to tour Jump Rope Gazer, and it was really nice playing shows in the States as singles from the new album came out, Jonathan says.
"This feels much more like the first record where we boldly set off from New Zealand with the goal of trying to convince everyone of our band. It's way more engaged. You talk to people at gigs… we need constant reassurance so being on the road provides that."
Expert In A Dying Field features a couple of songs that could be described as love songs and Liz says she's "coming round" to singing about relationships.
"I think there are love songs on the first albums but they're always with an asterisk."
On 'When You Know You Know', she explores the feeling of being in a healthy relationship.
"When you want to be with someone it feels like both of you have to give a little bit of yourself away … but when it feels right it doesn't feel too bad."
The Beths played: 'Expert In A Dying Field', 'Silence is Golden', 'When You Know You Know', 'Knees Deep'
Upcoming tour dates:
- Opera House, Wellington - 23 September
- Theatre Royal, Nelson - 24 September
- James Hay Theatre, Christchurch - 30 September
- Glenroy Auditorium, Dunedin - 1 October
- Auckland Town Hall, Auckland - 7 October
The Beths on RNZ:
- The Beths release their film and live performance album
- NZ Live: The Beths
- Friday Night Live: The Beths
