WEB EXCLUSIVE | LOCAL LISTENS | GIG REVIEW
Written by Liam Hansen (they/them) | @liamhanse.n | Editor-in-Chief
The Beths were already busy enough before announcing their surprise show at Auckland's Double Whammy last Monday. The indie quartet were gearing up to play two of Aotearoa’s biggest festivals, WOMAD in Taranaki and Pōneke’s final Homegrown last weekend, before heading off to Australia for a couple headline shows with NZ dreampop labelmates Phoebe Rings. However, the allure of a hometown show couldn’t be resisted - and presumably, the band figured that they may as well strike while the iron is hot, playing live in Auckland for the last time for the foreseeable future as they prepare to hunker down in producer/lead guitarist Jonathan Pearce’s studio to record their fourth record. With nothing but an Instax camera and the adrenaline of a review organised just as last minute as the gig itself, I entered Double Whammy and squeezed to the front of an already-packed crowd.
Mim Jensen, a rising Ōtautahi songstress, was set to open for The Beths after being in town supporting the Shihad show at Spark Arena. This is an artist I’ve been aware of since the day her first single released back in 2022, with her phoning in to the 95bFM Breakfast show as I was volunteering at the radio station, frantically preparing a solo broadcast of their current affairs show The Wire. The debut of that track, ‘Germaphobe’ immediately hit me as something special - an incessantly catchy indie pop banger with a chorus hook that remained stuck in my head for weeks with its wonderful lower harmonies and melody that feels like it’s been around forever.
The Mim Jensen of 2025 has become an entirely different beast, having nearly 1.5 million streams of Germaphobe on Spotify and a slot at SXSW Sydney 2023 off the back of her debut EP, ‘Emotional Affair’. She’s one of the core rising stars of Aotearoa at the moment, and The Beths are always at the ready to push those who have come in their footsteps to the forefront (This isn’t even her first time performing with them - Mim opened for The Beths at one of last years Ōtautahi stops on their nationwide tour).
With a drum kit pushed to the left of the stage (an underrated stage layout in my opinion for wider venues like Double Whammy), Mim kicked off with a couple tracks from her EP - ‘People Pleaser’ and ‘Pause Button’. The former leans slightly more into a post-punk sound, feeling like it could slot in easily to the recent Fontaines D.C. album if her accent was more Irish. The gig took place on St Patrick's Day, to be fair, and I’d only seen Fontaines at Spark Arena a few days before - so maybe the luck of the Irish was just on my side.
The first track I was able to completely lock into (after spending the first couple quickly grabbing a drink and panickedly squeezing through the already-packed crowd to a place I could take decent photos) was ‘Past Life’, her recently released single from her EP ‘Shadow Of The Gift’ which releases this Friday. The lead guitar work of Jayden Bowley became an immediate standout from this song, and his atmospheric style continued to elevate the set. He often used volume knobs to slowly integrate sounds in and out of the mix, like a pad synth that sends you directly into space.
I also want to quickly highlight drummer Liam Dodge’s fantastic backing vocals throughout the set, providing the aforementioned lower harmonies of ‘Germaphobe’ and various other songs throughout the set. The flair is reminiscent of those heard in occasional Billie Eilish songs where her brother and producer places his voice beneath the lead and works as a wonderful support, adding an undeniably beautiful layer to each track he’s heard on. Liam’s vocals are no different, with the clarity of his voice merging perfectly with the vibrations heard in Mim’s vocals.
Mim Jensen is, to put it bluntly, an obvious choice for a Beths opener. The two acts share the same affinity for endlessly catchy hooks, jangly guitars, and deeply honest and confessional lyrics - They’re both incredibly at home in Aotearoa dive bars, although admittedly Mim’s music has a certain shine to it via heavy effects that help it translate into slightly more dream-poppy territory. I think there’s a benefit to using heavy reverb and chorus effects sparingly, as it’s better to let the atmosphere they create stand on their own rather than engulfing an entire artists sound and presence - but that’s a very personal preference, that I wouldn’t blame anyone for loving Mims music. Besides, the production is already starting to strip back on the singles she’s released for the upcoming EP - it makes me wonder if there’s a future where she leans heavier into the distortion and crunchier guitars, especially after her time opening for Shihad. Regardless, Mim Jensens incredible choruses and heartfelt lyrics are more than enough to see her remain a prominent figure in Aotearoa Indie for the foreseeable future.
I’ve only seen Double Whammy sold out once before, back in September of last year when Fur Patrol put together a fantastic reunion gig only a few weeks after the venue opened its doors. That gig was full, no doubt - but Christ, do The Beths have an air about them that pulls young people from across Tāmaki Makaurau straight out of their trenches to whatever venue they’re playing - always right on time, and as close to the front as possible. I took a quick bathroom break between sets, having become accustomed to Double Whammy lightening up between bands as people filter out to Public Bar for quick yarns and a break from the bright lights. I had to fight (read: squeeze) through the crowd to get a spot near the front again, and although Aotearoa crowds never become as hectic as those for international bands at Spark Arena (again, Fontaines was very fresh in my mind and a woman who looked identical to Lucy Beaumont punched me in the back in a presumably Guiness fuelled rampage), it’s clear that people will hold onto their spot for dear life to catch the best glimpse of the four piece. That being said, the politeness of the crowd extended far enough that when the band came out with hoodies printed as “Guitar Tech”, “Bass Tech” “Drum Tech” et cetera, nobody tried to bother them or annoy the band off stage before they started playing.
The set began with an adorable midi re-composition of ‘Silence is Golden’ their lead single from ‘Expert in a Dying Field’ before the band marched on stage and launched into the decidedly less adorable, heavily distorted and fast paced track in its original state. These lo-fi intros have become a mainstay of The Beths gigs - a similar re-composition of their hit ‘Future Me Hates Me’ launched their concert at the Hollywood Avondale last year. There’s something particularly enjoyable about hearing such an adorable tune juxtaposed with such a punky song, though, given that ‘Silence is Golden’ is probably one of the punkiest tracks they have to date. Crowds at Beth's shows did not hold back - everyone was jumping, dancing and having a great time.
The quartet barreled through the next few tracks, ‘Great No One’, ‘When You Know You Know’, and ‘Dying To Believe’ effortlessly - although, I will say that the first time I saw them play the last song at the Auckland Town Hall I remember the crowd all simultaneously jumping in time with the “Woo!”s in the track's third verse, and nobody has done it since. Beths fans, I’m sure the band wouldn’t mind a little hop! They then transitioned in the first debut of new material that night, titled “Straight Line Was A Lie”. This track is The Beths at their best - making fast, happy, summer jams with mildly depressing lyrics. There’s a wonderful display of gang vocals from the entire band here - which is honestly a welcome contrast to their usual harmonies! While brilliant and beautifully executed later on in the track, the voices of the bandmates are usually used like an extra instrument, adding extra melodies and harmonies to the lead lines Liz Stokes is belting out. Here, the verses gang vocals almost feel like a football chant, and while the song is amazing in its current state, I really can’t wait to hear what it sounds like live with an entire crowd singing it back to them. I adored this one.
The next unreleased track they played, ‘Mosquitoes’, felt a little more like standard Beths flair. A slower, acoustic guitar driven track that has echoes of tracks like ‘Do You Want Me Now’ from their sophomore record ‘Jump Rope Gazers’. This did a little less for me than ‘Straight Line’ - the song was beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but it was a little difficult to pick out particular areas of growth in this track. I don’t think that’s a bad thing though - not every song has to be an experimental venture with multiple different parts, and the subtle joy and splashes of distorted guitars over Liz Stokes soft guitar playing were well appreciated.
I want to emphasise how much high streams on a Beths track is a genuine indicator of their quality - both recorded and live. Despite being their third and second most popular songs on Spotify respectively, the tracks ‘Little Death’ and ‘Expert In A Dying Field’ both lay out sweet chords and melodies above a core bassline that pumps throughout the song - the former being droned by Liz on the low E string on her guitar, and the latter taken on by Ben Sinclair. Both songs perfectly encapsulate what The Beths are best at - slow release tracks that begin slow and almost timid before slowly growing into complete and utter bangers. There are always gasps and cheers when these songs begin, and they’ve never, ever been letdowns or underwhelming in the multitude of times I’ve seen them live.
Interspersed between the last few songs that relayed their back catalogue were a batch of new material that kept me incredibly excited for whatever they have coming next. “No Joy” felt immediately catchy, and more in line with their songs that remained fast paced and fun without veering into super progressive territory. The penultimate track (which I can’t decipher the title of, due to my picture of the setlist being partially covered by a stray guitar lead) after their encore went in the complete opposite direction, using intentionally dissonant melodies to create a far more uncertain and anxious atmosphere that feels like Liz Stokes pulling back on the usual happy, summer-like chords that keep their usual songs from feeling as depressing as the lyrics are.
There’s no more hiding for The Beths - the new material they shared is more emotionally raw than ever, with a new musical edge that has served them incredibly well in the past and can only grow from here. So many of the new tracks experimented more with structure, feeling like less of a typical pop-rock song and more like multipart suites, growing in and out of intensity and allowing all members in the bend to shine (not that they haven’t in the past). The band are now gearing up to head over to Sydney and Melbourne at the end of the month, where they plan to share more new material and continue to hone in on what the fourth Beths album will be. While I doubt the usual Beths affair will be missing from this record, I think the band can really push themselves to another level by leaning into the complexity and dynamic wonder of their newly shared mahi.
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