Beta Radio step away from the familiar to create their stunning new album Waiting for the End to Come.

By Graeme Smith

Feature photo by Amanda Holloman

An American indie folk duo based in North Carolina consisting of Ben Mabry and Brent Holloman, Beta Radio have previously featured on this blog in 2018 with their track and video Realistic City Living.

Their new album Waiting for the End to Come is about stepping into the unknown and being driven away from the familiarity we’ve created for ourselves. Recorded in Nashville working with songwriters for the first time, the pair practice what they preach with it.

The album opens stripped-back and introspective with The Grief Of. Plenty of space is given to the emotional lyrics, delivered through gritty yet soulful vocals. As the track goes on, it builds, reaching an atmospheric acoustic folk arrangement before exploding into cathartic life.

Floating Through ups the tempo with a cantering guitar melody and subtle, driving percussion before This One’s Going To Hurt provides a soaring number that cuts deep. Imitate a Feast rounds off the album’s early listening with a lighter moment that’s full of imagery in its lyrics. It’s a highlight.

Halfway in a Dream suitably sits at the midpoint of the record, gentle and introspective. When You Got Your Hook in Me is soft and hopeful while Rolling Away, by contrast, is dark and brooding. Find Someone gives us some warm folk rock. Wheel of Wonder provides a meditative moment. The album is then closed in a bright and lively fashion by its title track. It’s a final highlight.

Beta Radio’s new album is a monument to trying something new and perfectly captures the highs and lows of the process of doing so. Its stories are beautifully delivered against a backdrop of classic indie folk.

Waiting for the End to Come is out now via Nettwerk Music Group. You can check it out below.