The Beths return with Straight Line Was A Lie; their fourth full length player. It’s their most poignant and melancholy output yet.
Release Date: 29th August 2025
Label: ANTI-
Format: CD / Vinyl / Digital
NATIVE NEW ZEALANDERS
The Beths have been steadily building an international following with award-winning recognition in their native country of New Zealand and culminating in their appearance on Barack Obama’s 2023 playlist with ‘Watching The Credits’: this is a band in the ascendancy and their new album is a welcome return.
On their fourth LP, Straight Line Was A Lie, the quartet delves into Elizabeth Stokes’ battles with mental health and anhedonia( as well as contemplating the nonlinear progression of time. Yet, their signature jangle-pop riffs and pulsating drums—evident in the shimmering 12-string guitar of “Metal”—retain the frenetic spark of their earlier work, like Expert In A Dying Field, while weaving in heartfelt poignancy. The new layers on this album affirm their growth into a band of both depth and artistry.
PASSAGES OF TIME
Straight Line Was a Lie opens with the title track, and it is the release of suppressed angst that Lead Singer, Elizabeth Stokes, has clearly been waiting to unleash for some time. It’s within the lyrics of this track (I don’t know if I can go round again; I thought I was getting better but I’m back to where I started; and the straight line was a circle) that we get an early indication of the general themes in the album. The band commissioned Lily Paris West once again to create the artwork for the album – the wonky clock setting the tone for the deeper tones of the album, yet smothered in their usual indie pomp. In this title track, the band deliver on both those fronts.
Mosquitoes depicts a walk in time and is perfectly stripped back with a prominent acoustic guitar to back some folk-esque storytelling. It’s another tale of the passing of time and the narrative sits beautifully at the opening section of the album. It’s also a track which exemplifies vocal layering against a building backing track. The Beths manage the ebb of such pieces well, and here the backing alternates between layers of instrumentation and more minimalist acoustic background. We can all recall a mosquito-infested walk in which the intention was lost to those pesky pests. That is not lost in this narrative. It’s a standout track for Stokes’ wistful voice and the meandering bassline from Benjamin Sinclair provides a solid foundation for the melody.
HOPELESS, MELANCHOLIC INDIE ROMPS
There is no escaping the central theme of this body of work in several of the tracks, most prominently on No Joy, Metal, and Til My Heart Stops. All are laden with lyrics that resonate with Stokes’ battles with health and some hopelessness echo throughout these tracks. It’s No Joy that best details both the loss and the fury that often accompanies any health concerns (‘Heartbeat barely pumping / When did life become so unbecoming’). Yet on this track, full of the melancholy of illness, there is no lamentation and instead it’s delivered with the typical indie pop, guitar-driven gusto that The Beths are becoming increasingly recognised for. We are treated to the majesty of Pearce’s 12-string guitar on Metal and, although it may not have the raw impact of No Joy, it does have deeper, richer levels and equally purposeful lyrics.
One clear indication of The Beths’ growing musical influence and maturity shines through in the heart-wrenching Mother, Pray For Me. It’s rare to catch a song in the middle of an album that stops you immediately in your tracks and forces you to listen again and again. This is the minimalist and most simply crafted song on the album and in that is its raw beauty. A passionate call from daughter to mother in a track where all of the pomp, fury, and fun that has come before in all their work is laid down for the poignancy of something almost prayer-like. I can hear this being sung live, with a crowd holding its breath amid a set of previously unrelenting energy.
DIVING DEEPER AND NEW SOUNDS
In the deeper cuts on this album, there are further examples of The Beths breaking through new dimensions in their sound. In Take, there is a nod toward a grungier sound with some clean breaks but at the cost of clarity in Stokes’ typical whimsical, almost lackadaisical style. The new layer might not hit quite as hard on this attempt but it does reveal further experimentation in sound-and isn’t that what you’d expect from four artists who met whilst studying jazz?
Roundabout is an altogether different approach to the previous track; a sauntering ramble with vocals which further evidence Elizabeth Stokes’ range and the musicianship of the band as a whole. The highlight of this cluster of songs comes in Ark of the Covenant which is the most textured song on the album, showing the deeper craft of these talented musicians. It’s a song with sumptuous lyrics (the ghost at my shoulder tapping it…) and precise delivery.
The album closes with a more recognisable Beths sound. Best Laid Plans is more reminiscent of Expert in a Dying Field-this serves as a note that they remain a standout indie band yet one never willing to settle.
This latest offering from The Beths is their most poignant and melancholy output yet, but one that still hits with well-crafted songs, intriguing lyrics and, essentially, excellent instrumentation. It’s a perfect end-of-summer indie album and recommended for fans of Wolf Alice, Wet Leg, and even REM.
The Beths tour the UK later this year. All tour dates are listed here.
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