Music Blurbs Vol. 17

The Beta Band

The Beta Band’s “Dry the Rain” came to worldwide attention when it was featured in the 2000 film adaptation of Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity. The song wasn’t simply included in the movie’s soundtrack; it figured into the story line. Prior to that, the Scottish group was something of a cult act, largely unknown in the U.S. The band’s music deftly drew from trip-hop, psychedelia, folk and indie rock; the show burn and hypnotic beat of “Dry the Rain” gained the band a dedicated following. Never prolific, the Beta Band released a trio of EPs and three studio albums – all of which charted well in the UK – before splitting in 2004. Band members went on to other projects, all of which had a lower profile than the Beta Band’s activities. Yet to the surprise of many, in early 2025 the group announced a reunion. After a two-decade absence from the concert stage, a Beta Band tour of the UK began in March, with the group performing its acclaimed The Three E.P.’s compilation album in its entirety.

Maroon 5

Evolving out of an earlier group called Kara’s Flowers, Los Angeles-based pop rock band Maroon 5 launched in 2001. Showcasing a winning style that draws from funk, rock and r&b, the band – fronted by singer Adam Levine – released its debut album, Songs About Jane in 2002. That record soared to the Top Ten in nine countries, selling more than 5 million copies in the U.S. alone and spawning five charting singles. In the years to follow, Maroon 5 would release six more studio albums; each of those was a million-seller (or better) in the U.S.; international success greeted those releases as well. Maroon 5 has placed 22 of its singles on Billboard’s Top 40, and three of those – “Moves Like Jagger” featuring Christina Aguilera, “One More Night,” and “Girls Like You” featuring Cardi B – claimed the Number One spot. Nearly a quarter century after their start, the group’s enduring appeal is remarkable. To date, Maroon 5 has won three Grammy Awards and countless other honors. The band’s latest release – Maroon 5’s eighth studio album Love is Like – was released August 15, immediately charting in five countries.

AFI

Lead vocalist Davey Havok formed the earliest version of punk band AFI (A Fire Inside) in Ukiah, CA in 1991; the band got its real start in late ‘93 with a show at Petaluma’s Phoenix Theater. Moving to Berkeley, the group began a run of self-released EPs. Signing with Wingnut Records, they released their debut full length, Answer That and Stay Fashionable in 1995. Their good-natured take on hardcore won the gorup a dedicated following. AFI’s breakthrough came with Butch Vig-produced album number six, 2003’s Sing the Sorrow; that record hit No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and was named by Alternative Press as that year’s most anticipated album. Subsequent releases have consistently earned critical praise, with 2017’s self-titled release (aka The Blood Album) coming in for special plaudits for its winning synthesis of punk, new wave and goth-rock textures. In October 2025, AFI released Silver Bleeds the Black Sun, their twelfth album, to by now predictably rapturous critical response, with some reviews calling it their best record in more than a decade.

Geoff Tate

Stuttgart, Germany-born vocalist and songwriter Geoff Tate is best known for his time fronting Queensrÿche, the progressive metal band he co-founded in 1982; Tate was with the group through the release of 2011’s Dedicated to Chaos. Tate was with Queensrÿche when the band created its breakthrough album, the 1988 conceptual work Operation: Mindcrime. Tate – a classically-trained vocalist – is renowned in progressive rock and heavy metal circles for his powerful voice and commanding presence. Immediately after he left Queensrÿche, Geoff Tate launched a band of his own, billed as Geoff Tate’s Queensrÿche, eventually re-branding as Operation: Mindcrime. That group continued on in the spirit of his former band, releasing a string of well-received concept albums. Tate has also made a pair of solo albums, moving beyond the prog-metal style and toward experimental and alt-rock textures, and two with Sweet Oblivion, an Italian metal project. Tate has also racked up a long string of gust appearances on other artist’s albums and collaborative works. His current solo tour features a performance of Queensrÿche’s Operation: Mindcrime album in its entirety, for what Tate says will be the final time.

Brian Jonestown Massacre

Guitarist, singer and songwriter Anton Newcombe founded Brian Jonestown Massacre in 1990. Over the following three decades-plus, the group’s lineup has undergone countless changes, with more than 30 musicians coming and going (and sometimes returning); Newcombe is the group’s sole constant. The band has released more than 20 albums, showcasing Newcombe’s distinctive take on psychedelia and alt-rock. The band has been consistent in earning critical praise, but that’s where the predictability ends: wildly erratic in a live setting, Brian Jonestown Massacre can veer from sublime to ridiculous, often within the context of a single performance. The band may be completely together, firing on all cylinders. Or the musicians might erupt in verbal sparring or even fisticuffs, the performance breaking down completely. One night BJM is focused and energetic; another, they’re listless and disinterested. At their best, Brian Jonestown Massacre is a must-see-and-hear act. At their worst, they’re an abject disappointment. In the end, that unpredictability is part of the experience.