Year of Love Beta Radio

• 1 There's Something I Want to Say 01:20
• 2 Afraid of Love 04:28
• 3 Don't Leave Me Behind 03:19
• 4 It Doesn't Really Feel Like Spring 05:20
• 5 Way of Love 03:42
• 6 Destined to Pretend 03:12
• 7 The Lowlands 03:09
• 8 I Need My Prayers 03:18
• 9 Inside a Wave 03:26
• 10 Year of Love 02:26
• Total Runtime 33:40

Info for Year of Love

Written and recorded over the course of 2020, YEAR OF LOVE sees the Wilmington, NC-based duo – Benjamin “Ben” Mabry and Brent Holloman – taking a moment to breathe in life’s simplest inspiration and, ultimately, urging everyone else to do the same. The album collects songs first featured on Beta Radio’s recently released WAY OF LOVE and AFRAID OF LOVE EPs alongside four brand new tracks including the evocative new instrumental single “The Lowlands,”.

“From the beginning, we’ve always loved writing instrumental songs,” says Brent Holloman. “‘The Lowlands’ is an exercise in trying to hold tension for as long as possible musically speaking, while still being (hopefully) enjoyable. We wanted it to not be predictable, but to flow from one part to another. Finding bits and pieces of it along the way, it came together over a few years.”

Beta Radio first heralded YEAR OF LOVE earlier this month with the premiere of the passionate title track, hailed by Glide Magazine as “engaging and forthright in its conviction” and available now at all streaming and download services.

“YEAR OF LOVE is a collection of songs from the year of the pandemic,” say Beta Radio. “These are songs that were written and recorded while we – Brent and Ben – were isolating together. This is the first time we’ve written a group of songs that, from the outset, had no theme or plan, (we had done a lot of thematic album writing and we were tired of it). But as last year progressed, from one tragedy to another, the thing we kept thinking about was love. It seemed right to call the whole thing YEAR OF LOVE, not just because the last song has the same name, but more than that, because we dig redemption and healing, and seeing the tragedy and sorrow of the past year made it seem even more necessary. 2020 was a global tragedy. But sometimes it takes tragedy and absolute breakdown to bring about breakthrough and hopefully, understanding and love. Maybe this year will bring more of that.”

Rooted in vocal harmonies, acoustic and electric guitar, piano, banjo, and an eclectic range of additional instrumentation and soulful arrangements, Beta Radio have quietly crafted a catalog of anthems steeped in folk tradition and galvanized by sonic adventurism. Over the course of three albums and a lifetime of friendship, Mabry and Holloman have generated more than 150M streams for such standout tracks as “On The Frame,” “Tongue Tied,” and “Our Remains,” the latter two songs featured on the duo’s widely acclaimed third album and Nettwerk debut, 2018’s ANCIENT TRANSITION.

Beta Radio began writing what would become YEAR OF LOVE at the onset of 2020. The world shut down and though chaos and sadness ensued, Ben and Brent remained steadfast in their Wilmington studio. The duo broke from their traditional structure by releasing music as it came together rather than waiting to finish a full project. Tracks such as “Destined To Pretend“ were met by immediate applause, with Glide Magazine hailing “the duo’s shimmering folksy Americana,” noting, “(Beta Radio) craft a warm sonic backdrop from arpeggiated synth and strings as delicately plucked acoustic guitar upholds lilting vocals while meditating simultaneously on themes of hope and pain.” “It Doesn’t Really Feel Like Spring“ followed and received equivalent acclaim, with American Songwriter praising it as “tranquil and layered, opening with a meditative synth part around which Mabry and Holloman built the rest of the arrangement.”

WAY OF LOVE arrived in August, highlighted by a sweeping title track featuring The National’s Bryan Devendorf on drums and horns by veteran trumpeter/arranger CJ Camerieri (Paul Simon, Bon Iver). Released in January 2021, AFRAID OF LOVE collected additional new material that emerged in the latter half of the year, including the title track, featuring strings from GRAMMY® Award-winning musician/arranger Rob Moose (Bon Iver, Paul Simon, Taylor Swift, Alabama Shakes) and joined by a powerful music video.

“On this album, we took what we learned from our last record, structured it, organized it, and told more of a story,” says Holloman. “Every six weeks over the past year, we turned in a song. So, it felt like we gave every song its own personality.”

“This was our pandemic project,” says Mabry. “It’s the first time we started without a theme. However, it ended up being more unified than anything we’ve ever done.”

Beta Radio:
Benjamin “Ben” Mabry, vocals, guitar, glockenspiel, harmonium, piano
Brent Holloman, guitar, banjo, vocals, bass, piano

Beta Radio
Home represents more than just a physical place.

It encompasses a state of being and an ideal. When you feel home, you feel whole. Humanity intrinsically seeks that feeling. This eternal search inspires Beta Radio’s third full-length and first for NETTWERK, Ancient Transition. The Wilmington, NC duo—Benjamin “Ben” Mabry and Brent Holloman—transform a tumultuous two years of corporeal and existential wandering into 10 songs cast in folk-style literary lyricism, Americana spirit, and orchestral experimentation.

On the journey, they creatively cover new ground.

“Throughout the whole process, there was an undercurrent of being displaced, because I moved four times,” says Ben. “Simultaneously, I was trying to understand how to reconcile who I was years ago with and who I am now. I was essentially searching for a home in a physical place as well as in an ideology and other people. My head was in this space for two years, so my reaction was to write songs that articulated these emotions. On the record, certain musical moments will prove sonically disruptive and reflect how I felt. The theme threads through everything.”

“While we were on the search, we let go of what we thought Beta Radio should sound like, experimented, and started simply pursuing what we like,” adds Brent. “For the first time, we utilized samples, an Unacorda, and old Juno 60 synthesizers from the eighties. We really expanded our sound.”

These lifelong friends carefully developed the sound over the course of two independent LPs. After quietly stirring a local buzz, 2014’s Colony of Bees marked a major breakthrough. Huffington Post touted the record among its “40 Best Albums of 2014,” while the single “On The Frame” generated 31 million cumulative Spotify streams between the original and acoustic versions. “Sitting Room” surpassed 11 million, and “I Am Mine” crossed the 4-million-mark. Meanwhile, they frequently occupied coveted real estate on high traffic playlists such as Soft Focus, Afternoon Acoustic, Happy Folk, The Most Beautiful Songs in the World, Calm Vibes, and more. As their profile organically grew, they released the holiday compilation, The Songs the Season Brings, Vol. 1-4.

By 2016, the musicians could focus on their next offering as they moved into a proper studio in downtown Wilmington.

“We both wanted to be doing Beta Radio full-time and, thankfully, we were finally able to,” continues Brent. “We’d recorded the past two records at home studios. With a proper studio and this newfound time, it was a seamless transition.”

Inspired by everything from The Arrival soundtrack to a re-reading of Slaughterhouse Five, the guys carefully crafted the music comprising Ancient Transition. The first single “Our Remains” illuminated a spark of inspiration. Off-time beats and ukulele bristle against strings as Ben’s delicate delivery captivates. It culminates on the thought-provoking refrain, “I’m wearing your remains.”

“The time signature forced us to think differently,” Ben admits. “In terms of the meaning, I had a very brief relationship with someone, but it didn’t go the way I thought it was going to go. I looked for home in this person and wasn’t finding it there.”

The opener “Tongue Tied” tempers electric guitar and broken Wurlitzer mixed with vibraphone. In order to achieve the warm echo, Ben sang into the guitar pickups, conjuring an airy vibe.

“In broad strokes, it touches on the idea that something’s missing,” he goes on. “You know there’s more you’re not seeing, yet you can’t find it. I don’t know what’s missing, but I’ve got to figure it out.”

Violin and banjo underscore a heavenly and hypnotic melody on the entrancing “Realistic City Living.”

“We like to add different instruments in unexpected ways,” says Brent. “The sonic palette is really rich. It makes for a record you can listen to from beginning to end. That was important to us.”

As they keep searching, Beta Radio ultimately offer a powerful reassurance on Ancient Transition.

“When people listen to this, I’d love for them to walk away feeling known,” Ben leaves off. “Art should reflect our humanity back to us. That’s definitely a big ambition for us. On the other end of the spectrum, we just hope listeners enjoy it.”

This album contains no booklet.