The Beths

Their main songwriter, Elizabeth Stokes, also fronts the Beths, a New Zealand group that combines energized guitar riffs, melodic hooks, and harmonized backing vocals in their impulsive indie rock. Having already won fans as a live act, the band released its first album, Future Me Hates Me, in 2018. Elizabeth Stokes (vocals, guitar) went to high school with Jonathan Pearce (guitar), and they later met Benjamin Sinclair (bass) and Ivan Luketina-Johnston (drums) while all four were studying jazz at the University of Auckland. The Beths materialized when the friends were playing together and began revisiting the punk-pop of their youth. They liked the results and made their recording debut in 2016 with the Pearce-produced Warm Blood EP. The Beths quickly built a reputation across Australia and New Zealand for their lively shows. Carpark Records took note and reissued Warm Blood to an international audience in 2018, the same year they released the Beths' full-length debut, Future Me Hates Me. Maintaining the grungy edge and infectiousness of their earliest songs, it was also produced by Pearce. The band quickly won over indie titans such as Death Cab for Cutie, the Breeders, and Pixies, all of whom created opening slots for the Beths on tours following the debut. Meanwhile, Tristan Deck replaced Luketina-Johnston as the group's drummer. Following 18 months on the road, they sequestered themselves to write and record their second album. Without ceding any catchiness, the Pearce-produced Jump Rope Gazers followed on Carpark in 2020. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi