The Beths

Absolutely what can you have against great music if your only critic is that it is unchallenging? What does that mean anyways? I find the whole concept that challenging music is good music which is somehow implied in the reasoning pretty dubious. There is so much crap challenging music out there. Let it challenge someone else, not me.

fwiw if you read matt dc's post he likes the album a lot, and he doesn't argue that music needs to be challenging.

(i.e. has anyone ever experienced that endorphin rush feeling from listening to Stockhausen?)

Yes.

Was just about to post the same thing! Kreuzspiel, Mikrophonie II, Kontakte - absolutely.

I love this album, though.

(i.e. has anyone ever experienced that endorphin rush feeling from listening to Stockhausen?)

Yes.

― Zach Same (Tom D.), Thursday, October 11, 2018 1:38 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I knew someone was going to post this, and ILM, you did not disappoint.

fwiw, 2 of the 4 people on the current tour were not part of the "all 4 have jazz-school backgrounds" group that made the record.

maybe those 2 went to jazz school, i don't know. just pointing it out.

yeah, good point. in that interview katherine posted upthread they mentioned that they used a different drummer on various parts of the tour (a good thing, i think, based off of their videos) and that the bass player was also not a permanent member.

i went to jazz school on the streets

These guys came on Spotify shuffle today at work and I was loving it. This thread bump has reminded me to get the album.

Decent enough rocking guitar pop

I’ve slowly come to realize that Whatever is the best thing here. It’s just one incredible hook after another

I think "You Wouldn't Like Me" is my favourite but that's up there.

At their show, they did play "Whatever" with an air of "well here's the one you've probably all been waiting for..."
Also, it's the only song from their EP that they decided to keep on the album. So I think they might agree with you.

i have grown to like the backup vox on much of the album, but i still can't stomach them on 'whatever'. i have tried many times, but at this point i just play the album through happy unhappy, then either switch to something else or play "less than thou" as the closer

i also skip "you wouldn't like me" most of the time

this band owns live

I'm seeing them Sunday. super excited!

oh hey they're playing here in February.

their version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" somehow redeems that old croaker, with the help of strings and a ripping solo

Elizabeth Stokes is a really good singer. the chorus of "Happy Unhappy" is so warm, it actually makes you physically feel better to listen to it.

I had to force myself to have a break from this album as I didn't want to get burned out on it. I've been going back to it over the last couple of weeks and it's still sounding so amazing. Still can't get over that run of Not Running, Little Death and Happy Unhappy.

cosign on ALL of that

The new video seems like the kind of thing that gets automatically created by Facebook based on all your 2018 posts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=166&v=BmCZ-NxESOc

this band owns live

OTM.

while we're throwing out people we hear I mostly hear Tuscadero

Belated OTM! Certainly in that vein.

I'm so sad I was out of town when they played here :( :(

I'm going to see them tonight! Just realized they are not actually the headliners, rather it's a band i've never heard of called Bad Bad Hats.

They recently opened a 3-week long tour I was part of and I'm delighted to report that they are the nicest, weirdest, coolest people on earth. I watched every bit of their set almost every night.

pulled out of their Smith Street Band national tour support slot (xpost with Weinstein thread)

Turns out they were actually headlining the show (the venue just posted the sets in the wrong order).

They really are a tight live band. I thought they were better this time than the first time I saw them. The sound was better (vocals higher in the mix), and whatever drummer they brought on this tour is a monster. He's an order of magnitude better than he needs to be for this material -- it was like the Cloud Nothings lent the band their drummer for the night. They played almost all the songs from the Warm Blood EP, which sound much better live... the live version of Idea/Intent was awesome.

saw them last night and they were awesome. im def gonna check em out again when they have more material. the drummer is so good--it's almost funny how chill and upright he seems when executing these ridiculous patterns and fills.

While it’s not math rock, the arrangements are intricate and there’s a lot of dynamics that warrant more than timekeeping

i am so excited to see them tomorrow

Grrr, I have missed them twice live now. Next time

Bought tickets for them a couple of months ago and missed the show. When will I finally learn I can't remember show dates.

Didn't blow me away or anything last night, but they were pretty tight and charmingly dorky. Non-stop flashbacks to various basement concerts c. 1997 or so.

Bought tickets for them a couple of months ago and missed the show.

I once had tickets to James Brown and confused a 2 for a 7 and showed up a week late.

This album is freakin glorious. Can't think of another rock record that has affected me like this recently. "not running" gives me goosebumps

After my latest listen to the album I decided I wished they’d slowed the tempo down for a song or 2 to provide more variety ( but the current all rockin approach works too)

There's 3 or 4 songs with good quiet stretches... i would not change a damn thing about this record!

I'm not going to go, but they're playing at my local barn/venue this summer.

why aren't you going to go

This kind of music just doesn't do it for me. But I heard a track on college radio (which still plays mostly indie rock apparently!) and it sounded good, especially in comparison to the songs around it.

yesss they're touring the US and Canada again this summer, bless them

and playing some new stuff, they say! here's hoping they don't Charly Bliss it up. (jk, jk)

Just picked up the Warm Blood EP which has been reissued on vinyl. I've never listened to it before so I'm really excited to have four new (to me) Beths songs in my life.

kinda hoping "Rush Hour 3" reappears on their setlists for the summer tour

I think "Rush Hour 3" was the only song from the Warm Blood EP which they didn't play when they came through town in February.

Girl Friday are opening for them on this next tour and goddamn do they sound great

https://youtu.be/q2j4jD2kDA0