Imagine Courtney Barnett announced she was fronting an indie rock band. We’d imagine her rambling, impassive style of singing propelled forward by power chords and marching drumbeats. Then we’d eagerly buy tickets to see and hear this unique marriage of folksy innocence and head banging power.
This beautiful unicorn exists in Future Me Hates Me, the full-length debut from Auckland, New Zealand’s The Beths.
Lead singer Elizabeth Stokes embraces her folk music roots and unrelentingly fuses it with Jonathan Pearce’s screeching guitar work. The result is a beautifully balanced ebb and flow between soulful singsong lyrics and jazzy rock anthems.
Like two strangers finding each other on a crowded dance floor, The Beths have brought two seemingly mismatched sounds together and made them fall perfectly in line.
Score: 🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿/5
Justin is a lifelong music fan, having spent some of his best years behind the counter of a great record shop. A native New Englander, he’s lived in Colorado, New York City and is now based in Indianapolis with his wife and daughter.