The Beths - 'Watching the Credits'
New Zealand indie-rockers return with brand new single ‘Watching The Credits’.
On 28/3/23 ’The Beths’ released their new single ‘Watching The Credits’ from the critically acclaimed, 2022, album ‘Expert In A Dying Field’. Packed with nuanced lyricism, ‘60s surfer vibes, beautifully delivered vocals and fantastic, playful instrumentation throughout, it’s not difficult to see where the album name derived from.
The song’s lyrics explore the relationship between enjoying the process of movie making vs watching the finished product. This comparison is one that is mirrored by many musicians vs music, especially during traditional learning and expertly summed up by Penn Jillette (in relationship to magic) with the view that; if the behind the scenes of a magic trick is more interesting than the performance, then it takes away from the spectacle.
Adjacent to its quirky, charming lyricism there’s an honest, face value quality throughout and in many ways it’s a rare type of track that could be enjoyed and appreciated without understanding a word of english.
The instrumentation in the track is cleverly assembled and allows the vocals to emerge, flow and resolve, while still showcasing mature ability, distinct feel and fundamental construction.
Comprised of; interesting, layered, punchy guitar riffs, expertly woven to shine when required and accompany when called for. Cool melodic vocals that, at times, almost have an ASMR quality about them and a happy go lucky back-beat grooving along and tying all the pieces together. It’s equal parts ‘Hey! Hello!’, ‘The Beach Boys’ and ‘Allanis Morissette’ and wouldn’t sound out of place on “Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie” by the latter.
As if this wasn’t enough to scratch your power-pop itch, ‘The Beths’ have also released a video of an NPR Tiny Desk performance. The video is intimate in nature, gentle while still striking an energetic and engaging tone and well worth a watch if ‘Watching The Credits’ has piqued your interest.
The New Zealand quartet’s, highly anticipated, world tour kicks off in a few months time, make sure to get tickets quick as they are sure to sell out fast!
Words by Grant Dallas
