New Bethel

"Inside the Blue Vera" CDEP

Kittridge Records

Genres: indie pop, indie rock

Kittridge Records
PO Box 662011
Los Angeles, CA
90066 USA

Nov 24 - 30 2003

... is what I said upon first listen to New Bethel's Inside the Blue Vera EP.  And I stand by those words, because not only is this [primarily] a pop EP, but I'm also convinced that my "hooray" was entirely justified.

Right from the start, this disc is impressive.  "The Great Decline" is a cheerful piece of melodic pop music that is a bit over-excuberant but still good fun.  "Radio Started" follows and takes things a notch further; Williams' delicious organ playing is the highlight of the lo-fi, surprisingly melodic instrumental.  The rest of the unfairly short disc flies by in a whiz of male/female vocal indie rock ("The Ticket"), poppy instrumentalism ("Song for Dad"), and epic pop ("Over the Counter.")

All in all, Inside the Blue Vera is a very, very enjoyable indie pop EP that I will be listening to for a long time.  While it's difficult to peg down just what is so great about this disc, it's impossible to deny that there's something incredibly warm and beautiful about the New Bethel style.  It's a limited edition release, too, so get your paws on it fast!

87%

Matt Shimmer

[Vitals: 6 tracks, distributed by the label, released 2003]