FEATURE: Spotlight: Beth McCarthy — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Emris Media

Beth McCarthy

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I interviewed…

the magnificent Yorkshire-born artist Beth McCarthy almost four years back now. Now situated in London, I think that it is high time I include her in my Spotlight feature. There is an E.P., coming from her soon. Having followed her music for over four years and loving what she has done since I interviewed her, everyone should follow McCarthy. Before I proceed, I want to bring in a few of the questions I asked her back in 2018:

“For those new to your music; can you introduce yourself, please?

So. I’m a singer/songwriter from York and I’ve been on ‘the scene’ for around eight years now. People who follow me will know me for a more Country/Folk vibe but I’ve spent the last year working on a totally new Electronic/Pop sound that I’m super excited about.

You are a Yorkshire-based artist. Is it a great county to make music in? How important are the people and the vibe of Yorkshire regards your music?

I am so unbelievably proud to be from Yorkshire. I think we have some absolute gems when it comes to music and everyone just wants to help each other get to where they want to be which is amazing. Yorkshire supports Yorkshire. It’s magic.

Were you raised around a lot of great sounds? What sort of music were you raised on?

I was actually raised on Rock music! AC/DC, Meat Loaf and Deep Purple were all favourites of my dad so, ultimately, became the soundtrack to my childhood. The standout, though, was Queen and they remain one of my favourite bands of all time!

What do you hope to achieve by the end of 2018?

I try not to put time stamps on things as I’ve found it generally leads to disappointment! I’ve been in so many situations where things have been planned or promised and they’ve ended up taking far longer than expected or not happening at all which leaves this massive feeling of defeat.

These days, I just keep going ‘till I get to where I want to be and I don’t really keep track of the time. I know that, if I keep working hard, it’ll happen eventually so I just enjoy the ride!

What advice would you give to new artists coming through?

The best advice I ever got was from a doctor in London who I met during my time on The Voice. He’s a doctor to the stars and said that the three things you need to be successful in this industry are: talent, the skin of a rhinoceros and the ability to cope with extended periods of inactivity. Over the last couple of years, I’ve realised how true that is and it’s kept me going through some of the harder times”.

I want to mention McCarthy’s latest single, Friendship Bracelet, which was released late last year. I am excited to hear the next track from the E.P., No Hard Feelings, which is out on Friday (25th). I will get to an article about that track ion a minute. Prior to that, York Vision spoke with Beth McCarthy last summer. A big hit on TikTok and a rising artist who is among our finest young songwriters, they wanted to know more about her:

“Anyone who has been within 50 yards of TikTok will recognise Beth McCarthy, having seen her sobbing behind her steering wheel to ‘She Gets the Flowers’ – a video with 5.1 million

views.

If you’ve seen the dual TikTok of Will Joseph Cook’s ‘Be Around Me’ and her own ‘Omg Did She Call Him Baby?’, you’ll also remember her distinct, trembling voice. There is something vulnerable and fragile about her music that belies the incredible strength it imbues to her listeners.

McCarthy left many people’s dream job in radio the month that lockdown began, but quickly returned as her pursuit of success in London was “spoiled” by COVID-19. Explained as a role for “if music doesn’t work out”, the radio enables her need for “connection”.

“My main goal has been to write songs that connect with people and that people can relate to and listen to and go, that’s me, that’s my story.”

TikTok provides the perfect opportunity for this, according to McCarthy – particularly during a pandemic where we all have “that kind of want for real moments and genuine emotion.” Three years ago, she tells me, “If I’d have cried in my car and put it online, people would have been like, ‘She’s not okay!’” Now, people need to connect on a “vulnerable and raw and genuine level.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Louie Wittner

However, McCarthy jokes that TikTok is still not a wholly comfortable platform. She admits to being “a little bit bitter that I spent ten years grafting my arse off to try and make it in music… and then I literally had to cry in a car. And that’s the thing that everybody’s listening to my music because of… I could have just done this the whole time?” This was something that picked up when she went on The Voice UK at 16 – maintaining that she did it to “get the experience”.

“I chatted absolute bollocks for like, a good 20 minutes,” she laughs. “But it worked for me… they were like, ‘Yes, you’re weird, and so are we! We’ll just stick with you!’” This plays out across McCarthy’s music as she rewrites the charts – from Lewis Capaldi to Noah Cyrus. “There are certain songs out there that I hear and I’m like, wow, that’s incredible. But I-I am the person they’re singing about, like, I’m not them.”

The power of this approach is perhaps best led through ‘Self Love Story” – a fundamental reworking of Taylor Swift’s 2009 hit. The famous, perhaps infamous chorus is replaced by: “You don’t need a prince when you’re already a queen / Write your own story / Where, baby, you are the lead.” She compares her role as singer-songwriter to being “the best friend or the big sister.” Her personal ethos is one based around self-appreciation: “I hate this narrative that people have of, like, needing someone else. The minute you start being, like, happy with yourself and comfortable with yourself, is the minute that all that attachment and sadness goes away.”

“I’m trying to take on everyone’s story on my little shoulders. I’m the Oprah of Music.”

Interaction with her audience has remained an integral element of McCarthy’s work – in the music video for ‘She Gets the Flowers’, a sequence of women write and hold up their stories of heartbreak. Simple and totally devastating, you leave the song consumed by the silence it leaves behind. She says that her next song is going to be building on the power within her rewrites – “We all cried together, and now we’re all going to get over it together.” Her aim is to “take the power back and take that moment where it’s like, okay, we’re really sad about that person, we’re really, really sad about that. But you know what, we’re okay”.

I think that everyone should follow Beth McCarthy (all the links are at the bottom). Friendship Bracelet is the current taste of her upcoming E.P. Make sure you listen to No Hard Feelings when it comes out this Friday. A sensational artist that I hope to see play live soon, she is an amazing talent with a very long future. Music Crowns covered Friendship Bracelet when it arrived in December:

“Beth McCarthy returns with another sensational alt-pop track: ‘Friendship Bracelet’. Her witty, storytelling lyricism stands out as she laments a friendship falling apart through hard-hitting lines and singalong melodies. Flooded with deep bass, shimmering strings and dynamic percussion, Beth McCarthy presents a magnetic indie-pop sound.

Discussing her new release, Beth reveals: “‘Friendship Bracelet’ expresses the petty and over-dramatic feelings that you experience when you lose your friend to a new relationship and in a way, is like a friend breakup anthem. I’m always unreasonably heartbroken when my friends get into new relationships because I suddenly have to share them with someone that they’re going to love more than me and the friendship will inevitably change. It’s also the worst thing EVER to be a third wheel so I wanted this song to encapsulate all those feelings of resentment, betrayal, sadness, and also the process of reminiscing on old times with that friend and almost grieving them as you know everything will be different now.

My favourite lyric in the song is ‘we were growing old alone together, that’s what you wanted ’til you wanted something better’ as I feel like it fully represents that feeling of being left behind in a friendship and is a feeling I’ve experienced too many times!”

‘Friendship Bracelet’ is the second single from Beth’s highly-anticipating upcoming EP, which boasts production and co-writing credits from Sophie Ackroyd (Nina Nesbitt, Benjamin Francis Leftwich). Accumulating almost 10 million streams, landing spots in coveted Spotify playlists and opening for Sigrid, Beth McCarthy is on her way to the top”.

An artist I have a lot of affection and time for, keep your eyes peeled on Beth McCarthy’s social media channels. I think 2022 will be a busy one for the Yorkshire artist. Go and see her perform if you can. She is a marvellous and hugely original artist who I have been a fan of for years now. I am in no doubt she will continue to grow and get some very big honours and gigs through her career. In the wonderful Beth McCarthy, we are lucky enough to have…