The Beths Announce New Album ‘Straight Line Was A Lie’

Share addictive new single ‘No Joy’.

The Beths have announced their fourth studio album Straight Line Was A Lie, set for release on 29 August via their new label ANTI. Alongside the announcement, the New Zealand indie favourites have dropped the record’s first single, “No Joy”, a punchy, emotionally charged return that grapples with numbness and the complexities of self-maintenance.

Frontwoman Liz Stokes describes the record as circling around the idea that “linear progression is an illusion,” with the album exploring the messiness of personal growth and the cyclical nature of change. Straight Line Was A Lie was written following the band’s acclaimed 2022 LP Expert in a Dying Field, with Stokes navigating a shifting creative process brought on by the effects of antidepressants, and confronting themes of anhedonia and emotional stasis.

“No Joy” distills this feeling into sharp hooks and nervy rhythms, “This year’s gonna kill me / Gonna kill me” is a lyric that feels as bleakly catchy as anything in The Beths’ catalogue. It arrives with a music video and the announcement of an extensive world tour, including UK and European dates throughout September and October.

Writing for the album saw the band break away from their usual methods. Stokes turned to a typewriter and stream-of-consciousness writing routines, pulling influence from everything from Stephen King’s On Writing to Drive-By Truckers and Olivia Rodrigo. The result, she says, was a more open and vulnerable approach: “Writing so much down forced me to look at stuff that I didn't want to look at,” Stokes says. “In the past, in my memories. Things I normally don't like to think about or I'm scared to revisit, I’m putting them down on paper and thinking about them, addressing them.”

The Beths, made up of Stokes, guitarist Jonathan Pearce, bassist Benjamin Sinclair and drummer Tristan Deck, have long been celebrated for their emotionally intelligent lyrics and razor-sharp melodies. But Straight Line Was A Lie looks set to push the band’s songwriting into even deeper territory while keeping the hooky brilliance fans have come to expect.

Tickets for the band’s autumn world tour are on sale now, with UK shows in Dublin, Manchester, Glasgow, London and more.