New Zealand indie-pop favorites The Beths are back with their most emotionally raw and lyrically sharp album yet, Straight Line Was A Lie. Arriving August 29 via their new label ANTI-, the record explores the illusion of linear growth with poetic clarity and punchy hooks.
Lead single “No Joy” is a thunderous burst of existential pop, wrestling with numbness and relief in the aftermath of depression and SSRIs. “It’s about anhedonia,” frontwoman Elizabeth Stokes shares. “I wasn’t sad—I just couldn’t feel the things I used to love.”
Written during a turbulent creative period and shaped by a ritual of daily typewritten pages, Straight Line Was A Lie finds The Beths dismantling and rebuilding their process—absorbing influence from LA’s vibrant scene, Criterion films, and the Drive-By Truckers.
With a sound that leaps between vulnerability and euphoria, the band continues to evolve without losing their signature charm. Stokes’ lyrical lens is sharper than ever, making this their most moving work to date.
Watch “No Joy” now and catch The Beths on their world tour this fall—headlining iconic venues like The Wiltern (LA), The Salt Shed (Chicago), Brooklyn Paramount (NYC), and 9:30 Club (DC).