An electronic masterpiece
“Dance” is the first part of BETA WAVES’ debut album “All For You“. Each part of this album is dedicated to exactly what the various titles suggest. In this part, the duo turn their attention to the dance and electronic genre. BETA WAVES is comprised of two talented individuals, Dale Easson on vocals and guitar with Harry Crossan on beats and synth. This first section of the album contains 3 singles released throughout 2022: ‘French Touch‘ in January, ‘Sweat‘ in April, and ‘&Dance‘ in May. This left one final song to be heard, ‘Tripod‘.
This portion of the long awaited album has been released at the perfect time for summer. Each track is very upbeat, providing a basis for easy listening. They all sound like tunes that could be blasted in beer gardens, pubs or even at home with the sun shining. With various possible musical influences, this is an album that will cater for a range of tastes, even if you like the dance genre or not. In a couple of songs, there is a distinctive 80s sound that resembles groups like the Human League and a couple of songs by Simple Minds. ‘&Dance‘ has deeper and almost distorted vocals which are like those featured in ‘Insomnia‘ by 90s group Faithless. Having previously mentioned being influenced by artists like Joe Goddard, LCD Soundsystem, and Jagwar Ma, it is clear that all of these references have accumulated to help create the electronic masterpiece that is this album.
BETA WAVES are described as partaking in a genre of “retro futurism”, which they demonstrate in ‘Tripod‘. This final track begins with a segment taken from Leslie (Les) Brown’s 1993 ‘Fear Speech’. Les Brown is an American politician and motivational speaker. His words start off the tune before trailing off and being replaced with a very synth heavy track. This takes a nostalgic and somewhat “retro” concept and fuses it with the much more familiar and current sound of dance music. Les Brown’s voice is heard at other points throughout, serving as a constant reminder that his speech is the foundation of the track.
The idea of splitting their debut album into 3 separate parts is genius. Often, valuable songs on longer albums are skipped because they don’t fit a listener’s personal style or preference. While that is a perfectly valid approach to listening to an album, BETA WAVES avoid this. By creating 3 individual compilations, it not only allows an audience to listen to the songs that best suit them, but also allows for the duo to completely demonstrate their talents in 3 different genres. This concept is really smart and means all of their songs get the attention and admiration they absolutely deserve.
Upcoming Shows
You can hear this part of the album, their previous and future releases at their headline McChuills show on July 28th. Additionally, they will be supporting fellow Scots, Fourth Daughter along with Sacul at Sneaky Pete’s on August 5th. This show is part of the Central Belters 2023 festival which showcases some of the best national and international upcoming acts across Glasgow and Edinburgh.