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The Beta Band - From Heroes to Zeroes The Beta Band's new album, From Heroes to Zeroes, kicks off in muscular, confident fashion with the hit single, Assessment (well, it got to number 31, which isn't too bad for such a perversely uncompromising group as The Beta Band). The vocals could only be Steve Mason, with his deadpan delivery, but the band continue on their musical journey they began with Hot Shots II, which saw them break away from the complete randomness of their first two quirky releases, The Three EPs and The Beta Band. The focus here is very much on songs, which have always been lurking in every Beta Band track if you care to look.
From Heroes to Zeroes is the band's first attempt at producing themselves, and they do a great job, although having Radiohead's producer Nigel Godrich twiddling the knobs for the mix can only help. The result is surprising rocky and there's even a - gasp - guitar solo in there! It's like Steve Mason has been holding back all this time and just wants to rock out.
The rest of the band - John Maclean, Robin Jones and Richard Greentree are in fine fettle, too, providing a bizarre sound collage to envelope Mason's tales of love and everyday life. Although eschewing the completely surreal sounds of their initial recordings in favour of more conventional instrumentation, there is still plenty of oddness: cheesy synth sounds no other band would play, bells, dog barks...
Influences wheel in from every direction, and the beauty of the Beta Band is that they will incorporate them, no matter what the source, often within a single song. Out-Side, for example has drum-pounding 60s rock that suddenly - without warning - becomes a gentle ballad, and then back again. Each song is completely different from the previous one, and yet still sounds like a Beta Band song.
It's a better album than Hot Shots II, which was a fine album, and if you liked that, you'll love this. After a chequered history that saw them nearly dropped by their label, Regal, it's good to see a band as unique as the Beta Band come back stronger than ever, with a clutch of songs bursting with energy and catchy riffs. There's not a bad song on this album, and you can't say that about most releases.
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