Bethany is an indie-rock experimenter whose intimate and inimitable songcraft sets introspective lyrics against innovative instrumentation, resulting in music that stirs and swings in equal measure. As a longtime member of Halifax’s venerable music scene, Bethany has led multiple outfits, wielding a Jaguar in art-rock bands and breaking it down neo-soul style in her solo project shadow, which released a pair of concept EPs (the dark/the dawn) in 2019. She’s a road veteran who’s charted on college radio, performed with orchestras, and travelled the Canadian festival circuit.

 

In 2024 she’ll re-emerge from a time of creativity and introspection for a full-length album released, for the first time, under her given name. Recorded with her longtime band Andrew Jackson and Andrew MacKelvie (the horn section) and Casey Thompson and Shane Martin (the rhythm section), the nine songs on Handwritten Notes finds Bethany moving thrillingly between guitar and piano, a salt-tinged Lana Del Rey who has regular coffee dates with Phoebe Bridgers. The songs search and reflect and question, with outcomes ranging from satisfied to resolute to unrequited. Stories told with the wisdom of experience (and a dynamic vocal range), Bethany is a journey of the heart.