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Come 2025 and Straight Line Was A Lie was announced with singles that went down very well and here's the whole album, finally. The questions with a new album by a favourite band are: does it live up to expectations?; is there development? and; if there is, see question one and; if not are the new songs good enough to stand in the shadow of giants?
I can reassure you, all questions are answered with a big yes. Why?
First, Straight Line Was A Lie sounds enough like The Beths to be instantly recognisable. That has in part to do with the unique qualities of Elizabeth Stokes' voice but also with the sound of the band, that is very recognisable. Secondly, things are not just the same. There are a few ballads but also stabs at a lighter sound, while the songwriting and the playing are always well above par. Thirdly, there are more than enough musical surprises that make for very interesting listening. Finally, where the band sounds "as itself", the songs are very good.
The album starts with a take that usually is kept for the umpteenth year anniversary of an album. The band starts playing but as sometimes happens, someone is not in the same spot in his mind. There's an apology and then the title song starts anyway. Listening superficially, things sound familiar immediately. Listen more attentively and there already is lightness apparent that continues all through the album. It's in the multitracked vocals, in the "funny" harmony voices near the end and in the music. Yes, there's enough noise in 'Straight Line Was A Lie', including that lead guitar that is always on the edge of where the lead melody allows it to go, but beyond that there is a lot of more subtle melodies that adorn the track. It seems that The Beths' members were having fun recording the new album.
The band is also confident enough to bring the tone down immediately in the acoustic 'Mosquitoes'. "I'm only here to feed mosquitoes", Ms. Stokes sings. Yes, I know that feeling alright based on my camping experiences this year. What stands out though, is the power of the song. The Beths does not need power and noise to convince me how good it is.
'Mosquitoes' is the start of a musical adventure in which The Beths shows several different sides of itself. Songs in which a 12 string guitar seems to take in a bigger place. Just like Dutch band The Maureens showed with its last two albums, it changes the sound of the band considerably and here not because it brings The Byrds to mind. It doesn't, the guitar is incorporated into what the softer side of The Beths amounts to. Just listen to 'Metal' to hear what I mean.
Compliments must go to Jonathan Pearce as producer of The Beths, besides being the lead guitarist as well. He has led the band successfully to new pastures, that in part goes against his own interests as lead-guitarist. He is the one with the outrageous solo's that appear to fly off the road but always land on their feet. They are mostly gone here. Take the pure ballad 'Mother, Pray For Me'. To be honest, I had expected the song to be the weak brother on the new album. It's not. The elementary ballad, one guitar and one organ accompanying Elizabeth Stokes for most of the song, is pure beauty in the middle of the album.
Overall, The Beths shows a totally different side to itself. Slower songs, emptier and more delicate. Sometimes the surprising explosion or an instrument bursting in like in 'Til My Heart Stops' comes in later anyway. It makes this album more interesting by the song. Did I say that all my questions were answered with a yes? In five weeks I will go and see the band in Paradiso and can't wait to hear how these songs are translated live (but please do not forget 'I'm Not Getting Excited' in the set!).
Wout de Natris - van der Borght
You can listen to and order Straight Line Was A Lie here:
https://thebethsnz.bandcamp.com/album/straight-line-was-a-lie
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