New Zealand quartet The Beths have announced their fourth album, ‘Straight Line Was A Lie’, and released a new single, ‘No Joy’ – check it out below.
‘Straight Line Was A Lie’ will be The Beths’ first album since they released ‘Expert in a Dying Field’ in 2022. The record, which will have “existential vertigo” serve as its primary theme, will also notable be the band’s first under new label ANTI-, which they signed with earlier this year.
In a press release, vocalist Elizabeth Stokes said that the upcoming album will also find her dealing with the side effects of starting SSRIs. “I was kind of dealing with a new brain, and I feel like I write very instinctually,” she said. “It was kind of like my instincts were just a little different, they weren’t as panicky.”
“It’s about anhedonia, which, paradoxically, was there both in the worst parts of depression, and then also when I was feeling pretty numb on my SSRI,” Stokes added. “It wasn’t that I was sad, I was feeling pretty good. It was just that I didn’t like the things that I liked. I wasn’t getting joy from them. It’s very literal.”
Listen to The Beths’ ‘No Joy’ below:
In addition to sharing new material, the Beths have confirmed that they will be hitting the road later this year for part of a world tour. Kicking off in the autumn, the dates commence with eight stops in the UK and Ireland, before they commence their North American shows in November and December.
In a four-star review of their third album ‘Expert In A Dying Field’, NME shared: “The four-piece prove themselves to be as vital as ever. An open and engaging lyricist, Elizabeth Stokes leads an autopsy of her own break-up, exploring the messy, sticky parts that congeal around a wound before it fully heals.”