The Beths sign to ANTI- Release new single/video, “Metal”

The Beths sign to ANTI-

Release new single/video, “Metal” + announce Autumn World Tour

The Beths by Frances Carter

“One of the greatest indie-rock bands of their time.” – Rolling Stone

The Beths – the New Zealand-based quartet of vocalist Elizabeth Stokes, guitarist Jonathan Pearce, bassist Benjamin Sinclair, and drummer Tristan Deck – announce signing to ANTI- and release the new single/video, “Metal”. “Metal” is the first taste of new music from the band since the release of 2023’s Expert In A Dying Field (Deluxe), the expanded version of their beloved 2022 album.

Following Liz Stokes’s recent, sold–out solo show at Largo in Los Angeles with special guests Courtney Barnett and Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords), The Beths announce a world tour across North America, the UK and Europe this Autumn. Tickets go on sale Fri. May 2 at 10am local and are available here.

Today’s single “Metal” was born out of a time of rigorous touring, mental health struggles, and several diagnoses for Stokes. “In some ways ‘Metal’ is a song about being alive and existing in a human body,” she explains. “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.”

Sonically, the track sees The Beths fully embracing jangle rock. Stokes says, “There was a propulsion to the acoustic strumming pattern on the original demo. Tristan’s drums meet that feeling so perfectly, the feeling of a train pushing up the tracks. Jonathan got to play his Burns 12 string guitar as sparkly as he wanted, and Ben as usual can’t be contained to the lower register. I think we ended up with an arrangement that embodies the frenetic intricacy of an engine in action. There’s a lot going on, until there isn’t.”

Watch the Video for “Metal”

2023’s Expert In A Dying Field (Deluxe) expanded upon the brilliance of The Beths’ acclaimed 2022 album, “another collection of tunes that cements their status as one of the great guitar-pop bands of this present moment” (Stereogum). The third studio album from The Beths, Expert In A Dying Field was released to a wealth of critical praise, and was named one of 2022’s best releases by the likes of Pitchfork, The Ringer, Stereogum, Our Culture and more. Surrounding its release, The Beths were profiled by Rolling Stone, made their U.S. television debut on CBS Saturday Morning, and performed a NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert, The Beths are undeniably one of the most exciting indie rock bands to emerge in recent memory.

The Beths Tour Dates:

Thu. Sept. 18 – Dublin, IE @ Button Factory
Sat. Sept. 20 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
Sun. Sept. 21 – Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 TV Studio
Mon. Sept. 22 – Leeds, UK @ Project House
Wed. Sept. 24 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
Thu. Sept. 25 – Birmingham, UK @ XOYO
Fri. Sept. 26 – London, UK @ Roundhouse
Sat. Sept. 27 – Brighton, UK @ CHALK
Mon. Sept. 29 – Tourcoing, FR @ Le Grand Mix
Tue. Sept. 30 – Paris, FR @ Le Trabendo
Wed. Oct. 1 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique
Fri. Oct. 3 – Cologne, DE @ Kantine
Sat. Oct. 4 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Sun. Oct. 5 – Hamburg, DE @ Krust
Tue. Oct. 7 – Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan
Wed. Oct. 8 Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Scene
Thu. Oct. 9 – Copenhagen, DK @ Pumpehuset
Sat. Oct. 11 – Berlin, DE @ Lido
Sun. Oct. 12 – Munich, DE @ Strom
Mon. Oct. 13 – Zurich, CH @ Plaza
Wed. Oct. 15 – Barcelona, ES @ Razzmatazz 2
Thu. Oct. 16 – Madrid, ES @ Nazca
Fri. Oct. 17 – Lisbon, PT @ LAV

Thu. Oct. 30 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel*
Fri. Oct. 31 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse *
Sat. Nov 1 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl *
Mon. Nov. 3 – Dallas, TX @ The Studio At The Bomb Factory *
Tue. Nov. 4 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s *
Thu. Nov. 6 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren *
Fri. Nov. 7 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern * ^
Sat. Nov. 8 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *
Wed. Nov. 12 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades *
Fri. Nov. 14 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom *
Sat. Nov. 15 – Seattle, WA @ The Moore Theatre *
Sun. Nov. 16 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom *
Tue. Nov. 18 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall *
Wed. Nov. 19 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre *
Fri. Nov. 21 – Kansas City, MO @ The Truman *
Sat. Nov. 22 – St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre *
Sun. Nov. 23 – Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed (Indoor) * +
Tue. Nov 25 – Cleveland, OH @ Globe Iron *
Wed. Nov. 26 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Roxian Theatre *
Fri. Nov. 28 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall *
Sat. Nov. 29 – Montreal, QC @ Beanfield Theatre *
Tue. Dec. 2 – Boston, MA @ Royale *
Wed. Dec. 3 – Providence, RI @ Fete Music Hall *
Fri. Dec. 5 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount * #
Sat. Dec. 6 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
Tue. Dec. 9 – Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club *

* w/ Phoebe Rings
^ w/ Bret McKenzie
+ w/ Squirrel Flower
# w/ illuminati hotties

Selected praise for The Beths & Expert In A Dying Field

“literate, emotionally intelligent power pop” – MOJO

“Over the course of three albums they have slowly expanded on that initial promise without losing their endearing hook-laden indie-buzzsaw edge” – UNCUT

“lean and propulsive, with hooks that get under the skin.” – The Telegraph

“the four-piece prove themselves to be as vital as ever, zipping between punk-rock connectivity and Midwest emo with ease” – NME

“With Expert in a Dying Field The Beths have created a bundle of sheer sonic joy that confronts, but doesn’t succumb to, all those neuroses most of us know too well. That they make it seem so deceptively easy suggests they truly are experts in a field that, thankfully, refuses to die.” – The Line of Best Fit

“[On ‘Expert in a Dying Field’ Elizabeth Stokes] sounds brightly conversational but stretched to her limits over the band’s rough-and-rumble power-pop, though the exuberant climax reveals a breakthrough: acceptance that carrying these memories is part of living, not dying.” – NPR, Best Songs of 2022

“…Stokes, guitarist Jonathan Pearce, bassist Benjamin Sinclair, and drummer Tristan Deck make music that has a sugar-rush immediacy and a craftsman-like attention to detail that invites close listening.” – Pitchfork

“New Zealand played a pivotal role in the evolution of indie music. The Beths, from Auckland, are the latest musical export to follow in the footsteps of the Clean, the Chills, the Verlaines et al, with a sound succinctly, and accurately, described by singer Elizabeth Stokes as “sweetly sung melodies and super-depressing lyrics”.” – The Guardian

“The Beths are responsible for some of the best rock melodies of the last half-decade, and Dying Field is just another stop on the earworm express.” – Paste

“[Expert In A Dying Field is] a truly amazing (and expert) slice of garage-born but stadium-worthy anthemia” – The Ringer, The 33 Best Albums of 2022

“A warm embrace to some difficult thoughts, this is The Beths at their very best.” – Dork

“A race to the finish line, packed with power pop energy.” – CLASH

“their most riveting and dynamic record yet”- Our Culture