The Beths: Straight Line Was A Lie [Album Review]

The Beths
Straight Line Was A Lie
ANTI- [2025]

“Hooks, heartache, and hard truths—Straight Line Was A Lie hits like a quiet revelation.”

Album Overview: Formed in Auckland, New Zealand, The Beths started as a crew of musically trained friends who bonded over their love for melodic guitar pop. Elizabeth Stokes (vocals/guitar), Jonathan Pearce (guitar/producer), Benjamin Sinclair (bass), and Tristan Deck (drums) built their reputation with high-energy live shows and emotionally sharp songwriting. Following fan-favorite records like Future Me Hates Me and Expert in a Dying Field, the band kept their upward momentum going—touring globally and snagging major festival slots.

Now on their fourth LP—and their first for ANTI-—Straight Line Was A Lie ditches the idea of clean, linear growth. Written during a period of deep self-questioning, the album doesn’t chart a steady rise or fall—it loops, spirals, and stumbles through confusion, acceptance, and quiet endurance. Stokes leans into themes of emotional numbness, shifting family roles, and post-therapy detachment, crafting songs that feel like journal entries set to sound. It’s The Beths at their most grown-up, letting the songs breathe while still packing plenty of punch.

Musical Style: The Beths still ride for guitar-forward indie pop, but Straight Line Was A Lie opens up more sonic space than past records. Jangly strums and hooky choruses are still present, but this time they’re paired with fingerpicked ballads, brooding textures, and more restrained dynamics. The contrast between lively instrumentation and emotionally heavy lyrics adds depth, while vintage tones, power-pop flourishes, and subtle shifts in mood give the album a thoughtful, lived-in feel.

Evolution of Sound: If Expert in a Dying Field was The Beths in precision mode, Straight Line Was A Lie is them pulling at the edges. Stokes and Pearce broke their own rules, exploring new creative exercises and embracing longer writing periods. The result is an album that still sounds like The Beths but feels looser, more vulnerable, and willing to sit in the discomfort. It rewards repeat listens, gradually revealing its emotional weight rather than unloading all at once.

Artists with Similar Fire: If you dig the bittersweet charm of Alvvays or the punchy honesty of Charly Bliss, you’ll find plenty to turn up here. There are shades of Waxahatchee’s introspective grit, Courtney Barnett’s lyrical wit, and even some Execution of All Things-era Rilo Kiley in how The Beths blend emotional insight with addictive hooks.

Pivotal Tracks: The title track, “Straight Line Was A Lie,” delivers the album’s thesis with a singalong chorus that hits like a realization you didn’t want but needed. “Mother Pray For Me” slows things down with aching minimalism, putting complicated family dynamics front and center. “No Joy” disguises its emotional flatline with a deceptively upbeat tempo, creating one of the record’s most effective tension-and-release repetitive chorus moments. “Metal” might be the most fun—the lyrics twist scientific metaphors into something catchy and strangely tender.

Lyrical Strength: Elizabeth Stokes continues to be one of indie rock’s most self-aware and emotionally intelligent writers. Her lyrics read like personal reflections spoken aloud—sometimes funny, sometimes devastating, always human. She balances internal questions with broader observations, building songs that feel raw but never indulgent. There’s less polish here on purpose; it’s all the more powerful for it.

Final Groove: Straight Line Was A Lie doesn’t aim to dazzle with instant bangers—it invites you to sit with it, to notice the subtle shifts and the emotional knots it slowly untangles. It’s The Beths’ most introspective, most mature album yet—full of sharp writing, understated beauty, and songs that linger long after they end. For a band known for their hooks, this one shows they’re just as comfortable letting things drift, wobble, and breathe. If this is The Beths in mid-recalibration, their next move could be even more fascinating.

THE BETHS REVIEW HISTORY
Expert In A Dying Field (2022) / Auckland, New Zealand, 2020 (2020) / Jump Rope Gazers (2020) / Future Me Hates Me (2018)

THE BETHS LINKS
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp | ANTI-