The Beths’ Expert in a Dying Field oozes with pure rock ‘n’ roll magic, all the way from New Zealand. This album pulses with late ’70s new wave clever electric pop and the occasional (and quite brilliant!) odd ball guitar solo, as vocalist Elizabeth Stokes matches the greatness of the Cranberries’ Dolores O’ Riordan and Debra Iyall of Romeo Void fame. Welcome to the melodic wealth of rarified air!
Spoiler alert! The third track, “Silence Is Golden,” is just sublime and molten rock music. Drums bash, the guitar buzzcocks with a prime post-punk arrogance, and while Stokes’ urgent nonchalant vocals cruise through melodic hook after hook, there’s an occasional moment of terse love-worn introspection. Jonathan Pearce’s guitar unleashes a solo that’s a distant relation to Dave Davies’ “You Really Got Me” frenzied, devil-is-in-the-details diatribe that melts vinyl into sonic rock ‘n’ roll fire. The engine room of Benjamin Sinclair (drums) and Tristan Deck (bass) pile drive joyous rivets into the tune.
The rest of Expert in a Dying Field is pretty great, too. The title track exemplifies the Beths’ template sound: A solid rock foundation frames Stokes’ voice that floats, dips, and explodes with sweet passion. The group’s backing vocals are really cool, too. Then “Knees Deep” continues with a kaleidoscope fun-house vocal ride that runs like a 100-yard dash. Oh, and there’s another wonderful Pearce guitar solo, to boot! Perhaps, a comparison can be made to (the great) Pauline Murray and her band Penetration, as both bands manage a very modern “shout above the noise.”
Things slow for the jangly melodic “Your Side,” which is nice soundtrack tune to love’s lifetime sunrise (or perhaps, sunset!) thought. And then, the band plays on. “I Want to Listen” is clever pop that becomes wonderfully guitar dissonant, like an awkward dance step, but recovers with a slow (parenthetical) final good-night glance.
“Head in the Clouds” returns to a strident (slightly staccato) tone, as Elizabeth Stokes’ vocals, once again, float, dip, and explode with studder-stop precision against a fluid guitar solo, while the entire band bends with rock ‘n’ roll tension. Then “Best Left” gets a bit atmospheric amid yet another good bash from bass and percussion, with a huge chorus and melodies that dance on the precipice of a post punk musical cliff.
My friend Kilda Defnut said of this record: “The Beths create music that’s the sound of a turbulent tide touching the soft sand on a sometimes-sunny afternoon beach.” Well, sure.
“Change in the Weather” does just that. You know, there’s a bit of the enigmatic R.E.M. and 10,000 Maniacs fun in all of this – and that’s big compliment! Ditto for (the once again) big electric guitar punctuated jangly “When You Know You Know.” The same is true for “A Pressing Rain,” with its soft acoustic premise and big throb of a colorful guitar pulse.
Then “I Told You That I Was Afraid” returns to the urgent burst of Pete Shelley and his pop-punk “Ever Fallen in Love with Someone” vibe. But the final song, “2am,” rejects the tough rock sound and floats on a weird atmospheric current that warps the always melodic weather. This tune is an impressionistic painting with acoustic dabs of soft dreams and flowing vocals, orbital sonic sounds, delicious bass and sensitive percussion. It’s a rather nice cosmic finale to a fairly raucous record.
The Beths have navigated their rock-music pathway through three superb studio albums and a live recording from their native Auckland, as Stokes’ vocals carve a melodic labyrinth map. With tough band in tow, they quell any Minotaur’s rage with ancient “Love Labour’s Lost” emotion, galvanic rock, and an endless supply of hooks that float, dip, and then explode with humor and passion, as both simply slide into the final (and perhaps vinyl!) grooves of a really great record.
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