Out September 16 on Carpark Records
The Beths are today sharing the latest single/video, “Expert In A Dying Field,” from their new album, Expert In A Dying Field, out September 16th on Carpark Records. “Expert In A Dying Field” follows the album’s universally-loved lead single “Silence Is Golden”, and introduces the thesis for the record: “How does it feel to be an expert in a dying field? How do you know it’s over when you can’t let go?” Elizabeth Stokes sings. The question hangs in the air: what do you do with how intimately versed you’ve become in a person, once they’re gone from your life? “Love is learned over time ‘till you’re an expert in a dying field.”
“I really do believe that love is learned over time,” explains Stokes. “In the course of knowing a person you accumulate so much information: their favorite movies, how they take their tea, how to make them laugh, how that makes you feel. And when relationships between people change, or end, all that knowledge doesn’t just disappear. The phrase ‘Expert in a Dying Field’ had been floating around my head for a few years, I was glad to finally capture it when writing this tune.”
Densely littered with melodic hooks and the incisive phrasing that Stokes has become known for, the driving verses of “Expert In A Dying Field” intentionally contrast with a restrained, delicate chorus. Here, the stripped-back instrumentation acutely hones in on Stokes’ emotive vocals. The accompanying video, directed by Frances Carter, honors this intimacy and vulnerability. Carefully placed relics and symbolic totems strewn about a charming, white-washed home evoke a sense of nostalgia and sentimentality. While Stokes sings directly to the camera, her bandmates play their instruments and sing backing vocals in various parts of the home, surrounded by treasures laden with meaning and memory. It’s an evocative series of vignettes that perfectly match the song’s bittersweet themes and culminates in a joyful, heart-stirring full band performance that shows off The Beths’ unparalleled four-part vocal harmonies.
On Expert In A Dying Field, Stokes’ songwriting positions her somewhere between novelist and documentarian. Across 12 tight, guitar-heavy jewels, Stokes traverses the autobiographical, but also presents character sketches of relationships – platonic, familial, romantic – and more importantly, their aftermaths.
Expert In A Dying Field is an incandescent collision of power-pop and skuzz, filled with songs that worm their way into your head. With Expert, The Beths wanted to make an album meant to be experienced live, for both the listeners and themselves. They wanted it to be fun — to hear, to play — in spite of the prickling anxiety throughout the lyrics, the fear of change and struggle to cope. Expert is an extension of the same sonic palette the band has built across their catalog, pop hooks embedded in incisive indie rock.
Pre-order Expert In A Dying Field here
View world tour dates at thebeths.com
The Beths – Expert In A Dying Field album tracklist
1. Expert In A Dying Field2. Knees Deep3. Silence Is Golden4. Your Side5. I Want To Listen6. Head In The Clouds7. Best Left8. Change In The Weather9. When You Know You Know10. A Passing Rain11. I Told You That I Was Afraid12. 2am
FOLLOW THE BETHS
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
