THE BETHS REVEAL NEW SINGLE 'DYING TO BELIEVE' & DETAILS OF SECOND ALBUM 'JUMP ROPE GAZERS' OUT 10 JULY
Image Credit: Mason Fairey
“Future Me Hates Me is one of the most impressive indie-rock debuts of the year… It’s the kind of record you expect to come from a band’s third or fourth attempt"
- PITCHFORK
“A wonderful little record that never lets up, piling on unassumingly buzzy fun until you start realizing you might be in the presence of a true power-pop monument."
- ROLLING STONE (US)
“With songs this good you’d think this bunch had been around the block a few times…”
- KEXP
“The album’s addictive power only gets stronger with age, as what seemed like just another good first album is rapidly looking to have the staying power of a classic."
- THE A.V. CLUB
Auckland’s very own The Beths today reveal a deluge of exciting news! Standing as the first slice of new music since their 2018 debut album Future Me Hates Me, ‘Dying To Believe’ is the lead single from The Beths’ forthcoming sophomore album which the band are thrilled to unveil is titled Jump Rope Gazers and will be released to the world on 10 July via Dew Process. All of this wonderful news plus a living room set of fan favourties along with the new single were revealed via live stream on The Beths TV. Watch it here.
On their rambunctious lead single ‘Dying To Believe’, The Beths reckon with the distance that life necessarily drives between people over time - a sensibility that is impossibly accurate in today’s climate. “I’m sorry for the way that I can’t hold conversations // They’re such a fragile thing to try to support the weight of,” lead singer, songwriter and guitarist Elizabeth Stokes sings. Accompanying the single is an eccentric visual which doubles as a four-step instructional video featuring the band in various “How to be The Beths” settings.
Following the release of their critically-acclaimed debut Future Me Hates Me, The Beths devoted themselves to touring non-stop for a year and a half, playing to crowds of adoring fans and opening for acts like Pixies and Death Cab for Cutie throughout the US and Europe. In between intense touring stints, Elizabeth Stokes worked on what would become their second album. After a quick regroup The Beths - who alongside Stokes includes members Jonathan Pearce (guitar), Benjamin Sinclair (bass), and Tristan Deck (drums) - settled down at Pearce’s Auckland studio to write and record Jump Rope Gazers with Pearce in the production hot seat.
Across its 10 tracks including ‘Dying To Believe’, ‘Out Of Sight’, and ‘I’m Not Getting Excited’, Jump Rope Gazers tackles themes of anxiety and self-doubt with effervescent power-pop choruses and rousing backup vocals which collectively zero in on the communality and catharsis that can come from sharing stressful situations with some of your best friends. Stokes’s writing on Jump Rope Gazers grapples with the uneasy proposition of leaving everything and everyone you know behind on another continent, chasing your dreams while struggling to stay close with loved ones back home.
Touring far from home, The Beths committed to taking care of each other while simultaneously trying to take care of friends living thousands of miles away. That care and attention shines through on Jump Rope Gazers, where the quartet sounds more locked in than ever. Jump Rope Gazers stares down all the hard parts of living in communion with other people, even at a distance, while celebrating the ferocious joy that makes it all worth it.
Hailing from the vibrant and deeply collaborative community of Auckland in New Zealand, The Beths were born when lead Stokes (lead vocals/guitar), Pearce (guitar) and Sinclair (bass) met while performing in high school bands. Their first body of work came during 2016 in the form of Warm Blood EP and in 2018, The Beths revealed what would become their breakthrough release, their acclaimed debut album Future Me Hates Me featuring title track 'Future Me Hates Me' and standout 'You Wouldn't Like Me'. The record’s irresistible pop-rock hooks drew praise from Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, NPR, Stereogum, the A.V. Club as well as a host of other publications, many who listed Future Me Hates Me among their favourite of 2018.
The album also made the shortlist for New Zealand’s 2018 Taite Music Prize, and Stokes has twice been nominated for the Silver Scroll Award, New Zealand’s most prestigious songwriting honor. In 2019, The Beths were nominated for five Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards, winning Best Group and Best Alternative Artist - the same year befriending drummer Tristan Deck, who officially became a Beth.
'DYING TO BELIEVE' IS OUT NOW
THE BETHS TOUR DATES
*w/ Green Day, Weezer and Fall Out Boy
Sun 8 Nov - Perth, WA @ HBF Park*
Wed 11 Nov - Melbourne, VIC @ Marvel Stadium*
Sat 14 Nov - Sydney, NSW @ Bankwest Stadium*
Tue 17 Nov - Brisbane, QLD @ QSAC Stadium*
Fri 20 Nov - Dunedin, NZ @ Forsyth Barr Stadium*
Sun 22 Nov - Auckland, NZ @ Mt Smart Stadium*