It's been a while since we've heard from the Beths, the Auckland indie rock quartet whose 2022 LP Expert In A Dying Field was one of the best albums of that year. Today they return with the new single "Metal," their first release with new label home ANTI-. The new song also comes with a bunch of tour dates in the UK/EU and North America later this year.
"Metal” is a jangle-rock jam that calls to mind fellow New Zealanders like the Chills and the Clean. The Beths vocalist Elizabeth Stokes began writing after a period of rigorous touring and health issues both mental and physical. She explains in a press release:
In some ways "Metal" is a song about being alive and existing in a human body. That is something I have been acutely aware of in the last few years, where I have been on what one might call a "health journey." For parts of the last few years, I kind of felt like my body was a vehicle that had carried me pretty well thus far but was breaking down, something I had little to no control over. All of the steps in the Rube Goldberg machine of life are so unlikely, and yet here we are in it. I have a hunger and a curiosity for learning about the world around me, and for learning about myself. And despite all the ways that my body feels like a broken machine, I still marvel at the complexity of such a machine. I can hold that knowledge in one hand, and yet with the other hand I can point to my reflection and just be like "you are shit." Or "ugly." Or "worthless." I can reliably respond to any suggestion that I might be able to achieve any small thing with "no." And these are variations of the "short word" referenced in the song.
Watch Callum Devlin's video for "Metal" and see the Beths' tour dates below.
TOUR DATES:
09/18 - Dublin, IE @ Button Factory
09/20 - Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
09/21 - Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 TV Studio
09/22 - Leeds, UK @ Project House
09/24 - Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
09/25 - Birmingham, UK @ XOYO
09/26 - London, UK @ Roundhouse
09/27 - Brighton, UK @ CHALK
09/29 - Tourcoing, FR @ Le Grand Mix
09/30 - Paris, FR @ Le Trabendo
10/01 - Brussels, BE @ Botanique
10/03 - Cologne, DE @ Kantine
10/04 - Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
10/05 - Hamburg, DE @ Krust
10/07 - Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan
10/08 - Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Scene
10/09 - Copenhagen, DK @ Pumpehuset
10/11 - Berlin, DE @ Lido
10/12 - Munich, DE @ Strom
10/13 - Zurich, CH @ Plaza
10/15 - Barcelona, ES @ Razzmatazz 2
10/16 - Madrid, ES @ Nazca
10/17 - Lisbon, PT @ LAV
10/30 - Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel*
10/31 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse *
11/01 - Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl *
11/03 - Dallas, TX @ The Studio At The Bomb Factory *
11/04 - Austin, TX @ Emo's *
11/06 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren *
11/07 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern * ^
11/08 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *
11/12 - Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades *
11/14 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom *
11/15 - Seattle, WA @ The Moore Theatre *
11/16 - Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom *
11/18 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall *
11/19 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre *
11/21 - Kansas City, MO @ The Truman *
11/22 - St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre *
11/23 - Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed (Indoor) * +
11/25 - Cleveland, OH @ Globe Iron *
11/26 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Roxian Theatre *
11/28 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall *
11/29 - Montreal, QC @ Beanfield Theatre *
12/02 - Boston, MA @ Royale *
12/03 - Providence, RI @ Fete Music Hall *
12/05 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount * #
12/06 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
12/09 - Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club *
* w/ Phoebe Rings
^ w/ Bret McKenzie
+ w/ Squirrel Flower
# w/ illuminati hotties
