Expert in a Dying Field - The Beths

Expert in a Dying Field comes from Auckland indie pop band The Beths’ third album of the same name. The title came first for songwriter and vocalist Elizabeth Stokes, whose witty, incisive lyrics channel the ache of holding onto a relationship that's run its course. In the video, the band play in different rooms of a suburban house, surrounded by obsolete technology, while a middle-aged homeowner busies himself soldering pet projects. By the final chorus, the band are rocking out in the garage, bringing their tender ode to heartbreak to a close. The song earned The Beths the 2023 Silver Scroll Award for songwriting.

It's an idea that I had floating around for a while ... and then I think the phrase clarified itself, and I had that for a while without a song, eventually the song came up, which doesn't always work like that, there's [usually] a title of the song before the song.

– Songwriter Elizabeth Stokes on single Expert in a Dying Field, RNZ, 23 September 2023

Key Cast & Crew

Frances Carter

Director, Editor

Olly Harris

Cinematographer