New Zealand indie-rockers, The Beths, are coming back with their newest album Straight Line Was a Lie. This will be their first project with their new label ANTI- and it will be out August 29th. Along with the announce, The Beths also shared the sardonic single of the album, “No Joy”.
The band’s music has always displayed a proud badge of paradoxical conflicting themes. It’s indie, calm and melodious. But it’s punk, rambunctious and riff-filled. This new track is no different.
“No Joy” rides a steady drum and guitar sequence that juxtaposes the monotony of “every day routine “going in a straight line” through life but finding meaning in it. As lead vocalist Elizabeth Stokes mentioned, the song explains that “what life really is is maintenance. But you can find meaning in the maintenance.”
The new endeavor will be The Beths’ first album since 2022 with Expert In A Dying Field, an album that received critical success.
The new album, also the band’s 4th studio album and 5th overall, is the result of a brand new writing structure for the band. Stokes and band’s guitarist Jonathan Pearce read Stephen King’s On Writing, How Big Things Get Done by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner, and Working by Robert A. Caro. Going “vintage’ Stokes did ten-hour writing sessions on a Remington typewriter that she was gifted by the band’s bassist Benjamin Sinclair.
The Beths will be embarking on a world tour at the start of September after the release of Straight Line Was a Lie. Dates are listed below.
The Beths are Elizabeth Stokes, Benjamin Sinclair, Jonathan Pearce, and Tristan Deck. Follow the band on their website for tickets, and more updates on the forthcoming album. Pre-save the album and check out their other new song “Metal”.
The Beths Tour Dates:
Wed. Sept. 17 – Dublin, IE @ Button Factory !
Thu. Sept. 18 – Dublin, IE @ Button Factory ! [SOLD OUT]
Sat. Sept. 20 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall !
Sun. Sept. 21 – Glasgow, UK @ SWG3 TV Studio !
Mon. Sept. 22 – Leeds, UK @ Project House !
Wed. Sept. 24 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy !
Thu. Sept. 25 – Birmingham, UK @ XOYO !
Fri. Sept. 26 – London, UK @ Roundhouse !
Sat. Sept. 27 – Brighton, UK @ CHALK !
Mon. Sept. 29 – Tourcoing, FR @ Le Grand Mix !
Tue. Sept. 30 – Paris, FR @ Le Trabendo !
Wed. Oct. 1 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique !
Fri. Oct. 3 – Cologne, DE @ Kantine !
Sat. Oct. 4 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso !
Sun. Oct. 5 – Hamburg, DE @ Knust !
Tue. Oct. 7 – Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan !
Wed. Oct. 8 Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Scene !
Thu. Oct. 9 – Copenhagen, DK @ Pumpehuset !
Sat. Oct. 11 – Berlin, DE @ Lido !
Sun. Oct. 12 – Munich, DE @ Strom !
Mon. Oct. 13 – Zurich, CH @ Plaza !
Wed. Oct. 15 – Barcelona, ES @ Razzmatazz 2 !
Thu. Oct. 16 – Madrid, ES @ Nazca !
Fri. Oct. 17 – Lisbon, PT @ LAV !
Thu. Oct. 30 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel*
Fri. Oct. 31 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse *
Sat. Nov 1 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl *
Mon. Nov. 3 – Dallas, TX @ The Studio At The Bomb Factory *
Tue. Nov. 4 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s *
Thu. Nov. 6 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren *
Fri. Nov. 7 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern * ^
Sat. Nov. 8 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore * [SOLD OUT]
Sun. Nov. 9 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore *
Wed. Nov. 12 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades *
Fri. Nov. 14 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom *
Sat. Nov. 15 – Seattle, WA @ The Moore Theatre *
Sun. Nov. 16 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom *
Tue. Nov. 18 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall *
Wed. Nov. 19 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre *
Fri. Nov. 21 – Kansas City, MO @ The Truman *
Sat. Nov. 22 – St. Paul, MN @ Palace Theatre *
Sun. Nov. 23 – Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed (Indoor) * +
Tue. Nov 25 – Cleveland, OH @ Globe Iron *
Wed. Nov. 26 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Roxian Theatre *
Fri. Nov. 27 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall *
Fri. Nov. 28 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall * [SOLD OUT]
Sat. Nov. 29 – Montreal, QC @ Beanfield Theatre *
Mon. Dec. 1 – Boston, MA @ Royale *
Tue. Dec. 2 – Boston, MA @ Royale * [SOLD OUT]
Wed. Dec. 3 – Providence, RI @ Fete Music Hall *
Fri. Dec. 5 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Paramount * #
Sat. Dec. 6 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer * [SOLD OUT]
Sun. Dec. 7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
Tue. Dec. 9 – Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club * [SOLD OUT]
Wed. Dec. 10 – Washington, D.C. @ 9:30 Club * [SOLD OUT]
! w/ Dateline
* w/ Phoebe Rings
^ w/ Bret McKenzie
+ w/ Squirrel Flower
# w/ illuminati hotties
By Antonio Villaseñor-Baca