The Beta Band, several of whom were former art school students, made some brilliant videos in their time. In fact, towards the end of their career the videos were arguably, more interesting than the music. Their final album, 2004’s (cynically or awesomely titled—your call) Heroes to Zeroes is a solid indie rock record. Which is to say, it’s a massive disappointment for those of us who came to expect a bloody lot more from these guys. A decade after Britpop’s heyday, they made a Britpop album. But by that point, they were exhausted and broke and sick of one another, and maybe after all their brilliant fucking around, tBB wanted to prove they could execute a reasonably conventional, immediately accessible record. They did, and three months after its release they announced their breakup.
“Out-Side” is, I believe, the last video they made for one of the better (if not sonically chaotic) tracks on the album. It serves as a tidy retrospective of their career, including their contributions to the dramatic acts. Viz. Steve Mason assumes the role of an MP (or some politician), Richard Greentree reads the news, John Maclean cradles an oil-slicked bird, they all play “the Beagles.” The video pays tribute to touchstones from Bob Dylan to TheWizard of Oz to space travel, embeds a clip from their single-shot, history-of-warfare “Assessment” video and repurposes tons of old get-ups. Finally, it ends where it began, in a living room where the four of them chill, barely looking at one another. You have to wonder, who are they trying to convince: us or themselves?
IO Echo (in the Hotbox at #44) is labeled as creating the genre of “New Orientalism”, drawing inspiration from 80s legends and layering on Chinese violins and Koto harps over dreamy sonic landscapes. Listen to “When the Lillies Die” above.
