Heroes to Zeros, by the Beta Band

Reviews of The Beta Band unanimously agree that “The 3 EP’s” is their best album. It is hard to imagine “Heroes to Zeros” being embraced more than their acclaimed first record. Knowing that ahead of time, I wasn’t disappointed at all when I picked up this album. The Beta Band makes some really interesting music. They work magic with samples, and layer their sound unlike anyone else. I have always thought that The Beta Band would be just as good if it didn’t have any vocals. I never really get much out of their lyrics, and weaker tracks suffer when they emphasize what they are singing about. They end up sounding like they are trying to be clever. The vocals work when they are adding a texture to the sound. That is why most of the vocals are delivered in a monotone/ambivalent tone. If you are a Beta Band fan, I would suggest getting this album. Otherwise pick it up used. It’s good, but I won’t be listening to it in my permanent rotation.

The album art on “Heroes to Zeros” is alright. The comic book cover doesn’t do anything for me. I think the reason I don’t like it is because it looks like it wants to be trendy. The inside reminds me a lot of Radiohead’s, and is pretty cool. It fails though because it doesn’t make any sense in the context of the comic art. The more abstract/ambiguous images seem to match their sound better and they should have used that on the cover.