The first time I saw Beth Jeans Houghton
I was among the multitude of people who saw big things in her future.
Standing awkwardly on the Head of Steam stage, 16 years old and with a
guitar that seemed to dwarf her, she let forth a stream of songs – some
perfectly polished, some left hanging in the air, as though she’d
forgotten the words. A beguiling, self-deprecating smile, a tumble of
clothes and hair and a voice…by God, what a voice.
Now 21, Beth sits on her sofa in her
shared house in Heaton, surrounded by a pile of “dressing up clothes”
that she’ll later coerce her band members into donning for our
photoshoot. She’s confident, sure of her music and the band, smoking
incessantly and a totally different person from that shy girl of six
years ago.
Even back in 2006, Beth’s star was in
the ascendancy, rumoured to be discussing record deals after only a
handful of gigs. “When labels were interested then, they wanted to
develop me, but I wondered what they’d develop me into.” She says, as
though anyone could influence this headstrong girl’s creative path. “I
was writing songs, but it wasn’t the sound or feel I wanted. I think
we’ve reached what we want now.”
Hanging out with what has now become The
Hooves Of Destiny – they’re very much a band, not merely Beth’s band –
turned out to be the catalyst for Beth’s emerging talent. Now signed to
the highly regarded Mute Records, the band’s differing musical tastes
have helped shaped their sound. “We have a very wide range of tastes in
music as a band. I’ve just got Dav [Shiel, drums/vocals] into Frank
Zappa, but Rory [Gibson, bass/vocals] only listens to 60s and 70s stuff.
I don’t know anything about gospel or opera, but I love the sound of
it. Even though we play different styles of music, there’s different
styles played in one song too. If we do a 60s pop song, not every aspect
is 60s pop – that’s how you get new music in a world where new music
doesn’t really properly exist.”
Dav describes Beth as a ‘sponge’ when it
comes to new music. “She’ll get into something new and almost
immediately it’ll have an influence on her music, but she’ll move on
equally as quickly.”
Beth’s voice is one of her most
endearing traits – at times high and operatic, warm and inviting, an
otherworldly hybrid of Florence Welch and Kate Bush (that’s meant as a
compliment, by the way), her vocal style and the band’s accompanying
harmonies is a natural product of the songs they’re writing. “The boys’
voices go really well together and are integral to the sound, that
harmony makes it sound bigger. That’s what I was trying to achieve with
the loop pedal when I was younger, but now we’ve got it for real!”
So the band’s together, the music’s
recorded – some of it has been recorded since 2008 in fact – and now, at
last Yours Truly, Cellophane Nose is ready for release. The “big bag of
wigs” has been shelved – for the time being at least – and Beth’s
inimitable style is ready to be unleashed on the world. It already seems
you can’t pick up a magazine without reading about her.
It’d be unfair to generalise the album,
to categorise it as ‘alt-pop’ or any sort of ‘folk’ that her early
reviews hinted at. This is Wild Beasts-meets-David Bowie-meets-Kate
Bush-meets downright crackers, and it’s simply wonderful. Every listen
yields new discoveries, from the chiming orchestra of Carousel, to the
melancholia of Veins, the batshit wonderfulness of Dodecahedron and the
rousing call of new single Sweet Tooth Bird.
“I think we’ve reached the sound and feel that we want now.”
The aforementioned Dodecahedron was in
fact written during a soundcheck at a gig in Exeter, arranged while sat
on a staircase in the venue’s carpark and played that night. “It’s never
really changed since.” Beth admits. The band’s willingness to roll with
the waves of creativity is something that makes the songwriting process
such an organic thing. “Even if I write the majority of the song,
everyone has equal input. Many bands will play what the songwriter wants
to play, but I think that’s stifling creatively and I don’t think any
of these guys would play with me if that was the case. I trust them
musically and it’s a team effort.”
In the live arena the band couldn’t be
any different from Beth’s earlier solo incarnations. Confident and
bristling with energy, the band so obviously enjoying themselves, they
lark about, pull friends onto the stage, play crazy cover versions and
infect the crowd with their joy of playing music. Their last North East
gig, at The Cluny in October, was their first in the region for a long
time, but coming home is always a special event for them. “Being from
the North East is definitely a big part of the band – the songs I write
are about people I know and have met here, that wouldn’t have happened
if my life hadn’t been how it is.”
“We cut our teeth here separately,
played in different bands for years,” Dav notes. “It’s funny, because we
don’t play here as much as we used to. I feel a bit disconnected
sometimes…” Perhaps the inevitable problem for a touring band, but with
Beth spending increasing amounts of time in LA – seemingly her spiritual
as well as emotional home – a widening of her horizons has had an
effect on her outlook on home life.
“It’s a massively different lifestyle to
the North East. I prefer LA for sure. I guess people are happier and
freer with their music and experimentation. Maybe it’s just bands I’ve
seen in England, but there seems to be a structure to a lot of bands
here, there are many British bands – both from the past and currently –
that I really like, but it seems people have got into a state of mind
where there’s a certain way you do stuff, and a certain kind of music to
make, and that’s how you make it and to make it is to be rich and
famous. In LA, I feel people are making music because they love it and
are happy to explore.”
This experimental environment has
obviously already influenced Beth’s music, and if new songs performed
live are anything to go by, record number two will be equally as
inventive as Yours Truly… In the end, Beth’s willingness to go against
the grain, to soak up everything around her and push her creativity to
its highest point, will be the making of her. “My creative vision? That
we’re ourselves and as creative as possible and not work to other
people’s standards.”
Beth Jeans Houghton & The Hooves Of
Destiny play Westgarth Social Club, Middlesbrough on Sunday 19th
February and Gateshead Old Town Hall on Saturday 25th February.
______________________________________________________________________
Author: Claire Dupree
Source: Keyo.tv
Date: February 22nd, 2012
Original article: HERE
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