the Beta Band

Editor's Review:

The Beta Band has had somewhat of a cult following thanks to a prominent mention in the John Cusak film adaptation of Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity. In one scene, Cusak, a cool, young record storeowner, decides he wants to sell some copies of The Beta Band EP, and puts it on the store’s stereo system. Instantly, people become interested. High Fidelity used The Beta Band to exemplify what good music is, and the four piece electro-pop group has been gaining increasing exposure ever since.

The Beta Band’s latest offering, Hot Shots II, is perhaps the group’s most cohesive, cleanly produced album to date, a collection of songs that blend electronic accompaniment like samples, scratches and canned beats, with the more organic sounds of live drums, guitar, bass and keyboards. Though this electro-organic composition isn’t particularly unique to this group, The Beta Band set themselves apart from the bunch by the virtue of their talent as songwriters — from minimalist beats smoothed over by vocal harmonies ("Squares") to bigger pieces full of acoustic guitar, watery keys and classic pop-strained vocals (Human Being"), and even grand studio gems of more electronically generated music and fuller production ("Broke").

The influences are apparent, and varied, from electronic music to classic rock to Beatles-style pop to folk and funk, there isn’t much that The Beta Band isn’t into, and this mostly mellow release is proof positive of that.

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Record Label Astralwerks Released August 2001

Tracks Squares Al Sharp Human Being Gone Dragon Broke Quiet Alleged Life Eclipse Won (bonus track)