The Beths' Elizabeth Stokes is on the charge.
As the band's workload in recent times has swelled, the window for necessary odd jobs is inevitably smaller for the singer/guitarist.
Sometimes you need to sandwich-press duties during a run of errands.
But the hard slog has undoubtedly paid off for the Auckland indie rock outfit as they wind down the touring cycle for their album Future Me Hates Me.
Last year was a breakout for the band - Stokes, guitarist Jonathan Pearce, bassist Benjamin Sinclair and drummer Tristan Deck - as they signed to Washington D.C. independent label Carpark, committed to a year and a-half of solid touring abroad and were lionised with award nominations back home following critical acclaim for their debut record.
Stokes says the final stretch of touring, capped by next month's homecoming, feels like the summit the band has been working towards.
"We played a venue in London (Heaven), that was our biggest headline show that we've played, which was 1000 people.
"It was really special playing that and it was a great night all-round for us. It felt like the culmination of the last year and a-half of touring non-stop.
"I feel like it's going to be a similar thing when we come back to our hometown in Auckland and these New Zealand shows."
As New Zealand shared The Beths with the world, the razor-sharp songwriting of Stokes has been acknowledged back here and by several overseas publications.
As well as a Taite Music Prize nomination in 2018, The Beths have notched up consecutive Silver Scroll top-five nods, which had the band in the running both this year and last year for Happy Unhappy and Future Me Hates Me respectively.
Stokes said it was special to be appreciated in that way.
"Because it is voted on by other songwriters, your peers, by people you hope hear your music.
"We voted as well and it was nice to listen through the top 20 and appreciate how much great songwriting there is in New Zealand. It's pretty special."
The songs themselves are heavily built on a juxtaposition of melancholy and melody, but their cutting guitar-pop has them placed closer to The Chills or The Vaselines than The Smiths.
For Stokes, that yin and yang was at the heart of The Beths' music.
"The things that are really important to me in a song; the lyrics I take seriously, I put a lot of thought into them.
"When I hear a song or a piece of music it's usually the first thing I latch on to and makes me connect with it. And melodies, whether it be vocal melodies or instrumental melodies, the way the melody interacts with the words is super important to me.
"It always turns out like that, it makes more sense to me."
As a self-proclaimed realist, Stokes lays out the angst of life's decisions for all to see in the album title and her songs' lyrical volleys.
Stokes admits that even before they embarked on the album tour the prospect was daunting, having to deal with booking agents and promoters on the other side of the world. However, the band has cruised through and remained tight-knit amid a significant lifestyle change, she says.
"We have to take care of each other a lot and communicate and be proactive about giving each other space. Sometimes you can't give each other physical space, but space for people to have their own quiet time.
"We've seen each other almost every day since we got back rehearsing. It's a really nice group of people to be hanging out with."
The risk of the undertaking has delivered rewards, exceeding the expectations both she had herself and those of the rest of the band.
"For me I never feel it's as bad as I make it out to be, but maybe I'm a realist or a pessimist.
"Usually that's a good thing because things generally work out better than expected, because the expectation is quite low," she jokes.
Expectations will be quietly high for The Beths in 2020. Following a last round of local shows, the band will hunker down to focus on new material for the new year.
The gig
The Beths play The Captain Cook, Dunedin, on Friday, November 1.
