Coming in with possibly the wittiest album title of the year (Future Me Hates Me), New Zealand’s the Beths show up with some much-needed pop-punk and joie de vivre right now.
The fun fuzz that opens “Get No One” is somehow topped by the delightful rhythm guitar that follows it. You’re tapping your feet right away and wanting to blast the album’s opener out of your car as soon as possible. The title track is as fun as you’d hoped it would be as lead singer Elizabeth Stokes tells us about how she’s setting herself up for “future heartbreak, future headaches,” but she’s still going through with a relationship. “Uptown Girl” isn’t a cover of the Billy Joel song (although I’m sure they’d have fun with that), but it is a raucous salute to partying all night and the aftermath that often brings.
“You Wouldn’t Like Me” has Stokes warning a potential lover about the hazards of dating her. “You wouldn’t like me if you saw what was inside me,” she sings, but the peppy nature of the song leads us to believe that was she thinks are faults are in reality charms. “Not Running” has an urgent energy to it (despite the title) with Jonathan Pearce‘s guitars constantly moving forward and not looking back.
“Little Death” is a rocker about orgasms. “Happy Unhappy” has Stokes both lamenting and loving the start of a new relationship and how its going to break her out of her comfortable rut. “River Run: Lvl 1” might refer to a video game I’ve never played, but the theme of a lovers’ game seems to run through the whole tune. The groovy grooves, rock anthem drums (by Ivan Luketina-Johnston) and vocal harmonies of “Whatever” make it one of the catchiest tracks of 2018 (and I love the subtly heavy bass by Benjamin Sinclair on it). The album ends with “Less Than Thou,” another love song in which Stokes gets in her own way when it comes to love, but powers through it with shining guitars and happy beats.
Future Hates Me is one of the peppiest and most clever albums of the year. It’s a perfect summer rock record, or a perfect record for breaking your winter blues if you’re in New Zealand this time of year.
Keep your mind open.
[Don’t hate yourself for missing music news and reviews. Subscribe.]
