Champaign-Urbana pop rock outfit Carly Beth formed in the summer of 2018 as the side project of longtime collaborators Kamila Glowacki (drums/backing vocals), Isabel Skidmore (guitar/vocals), and Christine Pallon (bass/vocals). The three started playing music together in 2015 as three-fourths of the punk band La Louve, and continued to collaborate in other projects over the years: in 2017, Skidmore joined Glowacki’s band Nectar, and Skidmore and Pallon both started playing in the noise rock band Spandrels that same year. But when La Louve called it quits last May, the three formed Carly Beth in its place and switched instruments to push themselves out of their comfort zones.

One summer later, Carly Beth released their debut, self-titled cassette on Rat King Records. Recorded and mixed by Sean Neumann (Jupiter Styles) and mastered by Brandon Carnes (Looming), the tape’s five songs blend a little bit of pop, a little bit of punk, and the spirit of 60s girl groups to form an energetic sound that’s already captured the hearts of Champaign-Urbana audiences over the past year. Once a summer side project with an uncertain future, Carly Beth now exists through these songs as a fully-formed, exuberant testament to the years of friendship and collaboration that inspired it in the first place.