The Beths @ G2, Glasgow, 14 May

It’s a long way from Auckland to Glasgow but by the time The Beths depart the stage, the whole audience are so glad they made the trip

Live Review by Max Sefton | 20 May 2019
  • The Beths

Riding the ripples of the wave that brought Australia's Courtney Barnett to British shores, New Zealand indie rockers The Beths released their low-key but excellent debut, Future Me Hates Me, last year and have spent most of the months since touring hard. They were most recently in Glasgow in February supporting Death Cab for Cutie and that show seems to have borne prodigious fruit in the form of a packed show of their own at Glasgow’s G2 following a sold out show at Edinburgh's Mash House the night before.

The back room of the Garage may be better known for chart bangers than softly spoken antipodeans but the quartet have such a warmth and charm that the whole house is soon bobbing along. Wonderful single Future Me Hates Me sets the tone with lead vocalist and guitarist Elizabeth Stokes revelling in warm, witty lyrics and wonderfully catchy melodies, as her bandmates add a lo-fi shuffle and crisp classic rock influenced solos, like Cheap Trick jamming out with Camp Cope.

The Beths’ sweet in the centre indie-pop wraps itself warmly around Stokes’ voice and in her hands the songs come alive and remain memorable and relatable whether they’re dealing with matters of the heart or life’s little fuck ups. With all four members equipped with Irn-Bru, they know how to charm a Scottish audience, but when you’ve got songs as good as the wonderful 80s teen movie romp Whatever, you would need little else.

It’s a long way from Auckland to Glasgow but by the time The Beths depart the stage, the whole audience are so glad they made the trip.

http://thebeths.com