Beta Radio Release New EP ‘Way of Love”
August 21, 2020 BY Nettwerk
“cinematic in an emotionally impactful way …” – Glide Magazine
Wilmington, NC indie folk duo Beta Radio–Ben Mabry and Brent Holloman–artfully and carefully piece together songs with an architect’s attention to detail and a carpenter’s work ethic. This handcrafted assembly shines through on the band’s upcoming EP, Way of Love, out today via Nettwerk. Listen HERE.
Of the EP, Beta Radio says, “”The Way of Love EP is our mirror of 2020 so far. The title track weaves through the landscapes of heartache, but heartache that leads to awareness, and awareness that leads to self-love. It’s really kind of wild because this is the first time we’ve written a record without a specific theme in mind, that is a thoroughfare through the songs of the record. But it feels as if these songs belong together more than any we’ve ever recorded.”
The duo teased the new EP with two previously released tracks: “Destined To Pretend,” which crafts a warm sonic backdrop from arpeggiated synth and strings as delicately plucked acoustic guitar upholds lilting vocals, and “It Doesn’t Really Feel Like Spring,” which was written in the midst of the current Covid-19 pandemic and captures the unsettling feeling of one of the world’s strangest times through an ethereal prism of synthesizer and guitar. The EP also features the cinematic, instrumental “May Wave,” a song they tinkered with a bit by adding lyrics and different arrangements, but in the end, they kept going back to its simplest form: two guitars and a piano. The sweeping, orchestral title track “Way of Love” features drums from The National’s Bryan Devendorf and horns by frequent Bon Iver collaborator CJ Camerieri.
Way of Love follows the band’s acclaimed 2018 full length release Ancient Transition, an album cast in folk-style lyricism, Americana spirit, and orchestral experimentation. Atwood Magazine called it “a must-listen for 2018 and a powerful showing of what’s to come from this artist-to-watch,” and The Wild Honey Pie remarked it “sounds as if it should be playing during an important life moment, like seeing the northern lights for the first time or during a first kiss that took way too long to occur.”
