Rock’n’roll, The Beta 58’s style : Agree to Disagree

This band has often passed under my radar, but I had not taken the time to listen to them. The members had already contacted me and I was supposed to play them on the P’tit Moment Thrash show, but there are no recording sessions planned until 2024. Moreover, all of my spare time is dedicated to the Bad Crew.

Although, I miss recording. I crave discovering new music. I miss doing chronicles. I envy going to live concerts and dive into a pool of heavy noises, distortions and fast riffs.

The Agree To Disagree album came out last September 11, 2023 and I had not yet paid attention to it. Shame on me!

The band recently resubmitted their complete discography to the Bad Crew. I no longer had a choice! All collaborators had their hands full, so I have decided to take care of it myself.

It was about time to take the time. So I pressed Play. I savored it and felt in love. I bearely have time to do anything and I haven’t done album reviews in a while. It had to be that good to make want to get to my keyboard.

Who are they?

The Beta 58’s is band from Kingston, Ontario founded in 2012. Unless I missed something, the band released two albums, a few singles and features on the excellent compilation album Punk Canada Vol. 1.

The band self-proclaimes as punk’n’roll. And they are right, given that they brilliantly master the genre. Surfing on different melodies and influences, it’ll go from Oi to punk rock, through street punk. You can sometimes even hear hardcore riffs or even folk. Their sound is erupted, well assumed and passionate.

If I had to classify this band, it would simply be in the « excellent » category. They master their art and it seems to them like it’s natural, without forcing it. For those of you who aren’t as familiar to the style, if you know and enjoy Out of Order, Psychopunch, or even Guitar Wolf, you’ll be well served.

And what about Agree to Disagree?

I took a peak at their Bandcamp page and I have decided to pay attention to their latest album entitled Agree To Disagree. Ten songs come together, sometimes on loud and heavy melodies, sometimes on light and catchy riffs. The singer’s voice is hoarse, suave, harmonious. The backvocals are well orchestrated, while the melody and the rythm are well-made. You’ll feel like stamping one’s foot and sing along to the catchy chorus.

I would not say that the reinvented the style or that they are doing something different from other similar bands. However, what they are doing, they are doing it perfectly, without becoming a caricature, nor the déjà vu impression. This is why it’s one hell of a discovery for me, and since it might play a lot in the upcoming weeks, I bet they will be part of my favorite releases in 2023. I had a very hard time identifying what was my favorite song but sometimes you must make decisions, so I chose Destruction Orgy. A small special mention to the last song from the album, A Fond Farewell, who clashes a little, but is delightful to the ear and wraps up the album to perfection. Here are the links where you can hear them.

Where to find and listen to them :

Spotify 
Bandcamp
Instagram 
Facebook 

Redaction : Claudia Bo

Editing : Céline Montminy

Review : Marie-Eve Landry

Translation: Jessica Peach