Beta Radio Shares Title Track + Video From Upcoming EP, Out January 8

Wilmington, NC indie folk duo Beta Radio—Benjamin Mabry and Brent Holloman—have released the title track of their upcoming EP, Afraid of Love, out January 8, 2021. Of the song, Benjamin says, “I’ve spent most of my recent songwriting career trying NOT to write about love. It’s done so much, (we’ve done it so much), and I was tired of it. It got to the point that when I would sit to write song lyrics, I would try to be intentional to not use the word ‘love’ because it was already everywhere my ear turned. But then the new year arrived. And then the world got sick. And then we all saw again how broken our system(s) of justice are. And so, it seemed that love was all that I could write about. Even if I am sometimes afraid of it.”

“The video was actually shot and completed prior to the song being finished in the studio,” Benjamin adds. “Although the lyrics were solidified after the video, that is what I love about songwriting… the sense of place the video conveys totally still works for the song, even though they ultimately took form separately. I love how music works that way. Visually, linguistically and audibly. All these senses are speaking to the same narrative, which is ultimately open to the interpretation of the viewer or listener.”

Afraid of Love follows this summer’s Way of Love EP, which Glide called “cinematic in an emotionally impactful way” and American Songwriter called “tranquil and layered.” The sweeping, orchestral title track “Way of Love” featured drums from The National’s Bryan Devendorf and horns by frequent Bon Iver collaborator CJ Camerieri.

Beta Radio artfully and carefully piece together their ethereal folk sound with an architect’s attention to detail and a carpenter’s work ethic. The Afraid of Love and Way of Love EPs follow their acclaimed 2018 full length album and Nettwerk debut, 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.”