Remembering and honouring the memory of The Beta Band is something I consider an importance for carrying the torch of their mark in music and reminding the younger generations to come, that great music existed within the confined walls of the late 1990’s in a place like Fife, Scotland. The band's reckless self-sabotaging character kept them under a questioning microscope in their time. Though their outlandish negative comments about their own music seem odd and insecure, I believe they come from a place of perfectionism and high standards. Like the typical band stories you hear, the background of The Beta Band was drug fuelled and uneasy - but it is this root of chaos that shines through in their music. Band member Steven Mason spent most of his time in the band clinically depressed, which was undoubtedly an enfusement to some of the bands songs. Mason wasn't the only unstable band member, Gordon Anderson recalls ingesting so many psychedelic substances that it became some-what of a norm - this caused an array of unsettling behaviours such as what can only come across as psychosis and delusion.

Despite this convoluted history they possess, The Beta Band seemingly spewed endless bouts of timeless and ever-intriguing music. This however does not line up with the fact that they split up in 2004, leaving their record label in over £1.2 Million in debt. Probably the most recognisable work from The Beta Band is their compilation album ‘The Three E.P.’s’ - an album comprised of three immaculate separate E.P.’s that each hold a vastly different sound to each other, but equally compliment each other in unison. ‘The Three E.P.’s’ soared to number 4 on the UK Independent Album’s chart in the year of its release. The order of the E.P. 's go as follows: ‘Champion Versions’, ‘The Patty Patty Sound’ and lastly ‘Los Amigos del Beta Bandidos’.









The opening track to the compilation album, and therefore ‘Champion Versions’ is arguably their most popular track ‘Dry the Rain’. Those who have watched the 2000 film adaptation of Nick Hornby’s ‘High Fidelity’ may be familiar with this song. In the film, the main character Rob (who owns a record store) puts this on with confidence that he will sell their record when the customers listen to it - and it does bide well with the customers. ‘Dry the Rain’ is a simplistic start to a later complex E.P., but an unfaulted opening at that. Second track, ‘I Know’ is where the folktronica begins to unhesitantly kick in, which sets the tone for what lies ahead. The soft whispering vocals are met with a foot-tapping beat which results in a conventionally eerie sound.

There are plenty of analysis' about the link between The Beta Band and Radiohead. It is possible that The Beta Band took bits of inspiration from Radiohead albums ‘ The Bends ’ and ‘ OK Computer’ throughout ‘The Three E.P.’s’, but it is also notable that The Beta Band could be responsible for influencing parts of Radiohead's subsequent albums ‘Kid A ’ and ‘Amnesiac ’. Both bands are respective in their influence however and still have their personal touches attached to what they produce. When I first heard ‘B + A’ (the third track) my mind instantly went to radiohead. ‘B + A’ is a lyricless void with an unfettered instrumental which masters this full euphoric sound. ‘Dogs Got a Bone’ follows up from ‘B + A’ with more stripped back and folky duel vocals, making the perfect end to ‘Champion Sounds’ and a flattering addition to the overall compilation.

‘The Patty Patty Sound’ begins off the bat of ‘Dogs Got a Bone’ with a comely opening of ‘Inner Meet Me’. This is an (almost) 6 minute-long musical journey where we begin to see the more experimental depths of The Beta Band. ‘The House Song’ follows with the beginning of raw vocals, which develops to an instrumental you can't help tapping along to. However in the middle of this track we are met with an amplification of the Jazz undertone which then develops to a trip-hop beat. ‘The House Song’ is the first completely unexpected song within the E.P. and across the album - but it is only a warm up for the fifteen minute long musical adventure that is ‘Monolith’. ‘Monolith’ starts with traditional southern european samples that are met with electronica. There are a combination of animalistic sound effects and computer buzzes - yet again reimbursing this ‘ OK Computer’ supposed influence. As the piece progresses it dies down to a simple drum beat, but picks up again when met with distorted vocals and untimely chimes. Over all, your ears naturally prick up every ten seconds when listening to this piece.

‘The Patty Patty Sound’ rounds-off with ‘She’s the One’. Here, familiarity comes creeping back in as the listener experiences a more "human" sound. The romantic lyrical content reassures the dimensional qualities of this E.P. - but this track doesn't "fade-out" per se, it ends on the obscurities of pitched up vocals and a lightened tempo.

To end the trilogy, The Three E.P.’s ends with ‘ Los Amigos del Beta Bandidos ’ - which is the embodiment of the calm after the storm when you take the compilation as a whole. ‘Push it Out’ holds an introduction of hip-hop bass lines that are paired with an unlikely rich piano. The folky strings waver throughout, maintaining the backbone sound of The Beta Band. ‘It’s Over’ comes after - and my favourite feature of this track is the lyricism in combination with the vocal effects; it is more of an "easy listen" moment on the record. The piano comes around again in ‘Dr. Baker’ as it seems to be the spotlight of this particular piece - then ‘Los Amigos del Beta Bandidos’ ends perfectly with ‘Needles in My Eyes’; a fitting closure to the E.P. and the entirety of ‘The Three E.P.’s’.

Overall, The Three E.P.’s is a historical delicacy with an extremely enjoyable undistracted listening experience. The feeling it leaves you with is undescribable. I cannot recommend this album enough if you haven’t heard it already, as I believe there is something for everyone within this 78 minute listen.