Album Review: The Beths - Jump Rope Gazers (2020)

According to the opening gambit on Jump Rope Gazers, Elizabeth Stokes and her band are not getting excited. But perhaps they should be. Since the release of their debut EP, Warm Blood back in 2016, it’s been one high watermark after another for The Beths.

That release was followed by a well-received full-length debut outing, sold out national tours, international touring and supports (pre-lockdown), and, um, a Christmas single. All arriving with rave reviews from the heavyweight likes of Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, and a raft of other publications. Plenty there to be getting excited about, surely.

Having said that, the formula applied on Jump Rope Gazers is not vastly different to that found on those earlier releases, which, depending on your starting point, is either a very good thing, or a defiant act of gross negligence. A poke in the eye to those critics who believe pop artists are duty bound to offer some sign of real, perceived, or mythical “progression” on each and every release. 

Me? ... I’m not so fussed about any of that. The Beths have stuck with what they know, what they do best, what works, and the important thing is, they’ve done it very well. It turns out that “difficult second album” was not so difficult after all.

So that means we get a procession of fuzzy power pop tunes, and the sense that the band are still having fun together, despite all of the challenges and pressures that invariably come with life on the road (pre-Covid). It’s a super strong set, and very consistent, with no one single track standing out above any of the others. Which is always a good sign for the longer-term durability of any release.

There are a few tunes here that will doubtlessly shine much brighter in a live setting; the title track appeals as an ideal live singalong, and I can already see cuts like ‘Do You Want Me Now’ and ‘Don’t Go Away’, in particular, going down a storm when I catch the band on stage in my neighbourhood next month, at the first of three sold-out gigs at Wellington’s San Fran.

All of that said, I feel compelled to leave you with the words of another local reviewer, Alex Behan, who reviewed Jump Rope Gazers immediately upon its release a few weeks ago. Without wishing to detract from the key roles played by the rest of the band, especially that of guitarist Jonathan Pearce, I thought Behan nailed the band’s nerdy appeal with these words:

“The Beths’ not so secret weapon stands shyly centre stage. Elizabeth Stokes harnesses insecurity and doubt, turns it into witty, self-deprecating poetry, then wraps it up in uplifting, positively exuberant guitar pop.”

Almost perfect.