Prior to the release of their fourth studio album,\u00a0Straight Line Was a Lie<\/em>, I had the pleasure of speaking to Stokes about the new project. During\u00a0our chat, she explained that artist Lily West came up with several ideas for the cover art, but the band felt most drawn to the imagery of wonky clocks because it felt \u201cfun and silly\u201d.<\/p>\n This was fascinating to hear, because there\u2019s quite a serious and profound side to The Beths as well, yet they don\u2019t allow it to define them. For example, \u2018Mother Pray For Me\u2019 is arguably one of the prettiest and most moving songs on the album. At the same time, it\u2019s not exactly a joyous tune \u2014 contrarily, it has the power to choke you up and maybe even squeeze out a tear or two out of its listeners.<\/p>\n \u201cI could barely write \u2018Mother, Pray For Me\u2019 because I was crying the whole time, even when I was recording the demo,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are some things that I just haven\u2019t looked at too closely because they\u2019re just difficult to look at. Everybody\u2019s got parents, and the way you feel about them is so complicated because in some ways, you owe them everything. With intense love comes intense complexity, which is covered a lot in song when it comes to romantic relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n She added, \u201cAs for my mum in particular, there is a gulf of understanding between us because we just grew up in such different environments \u2014\u00a0she grew up in Indonesia\u00a0with not a lot of money, and we moved to New Zealand when I was four. Like a lot of immigrants, it\u2019s not just my relationship with her but also with this culture that I kind of come from but am not that closely connected to. There\u2019s also her relationship to her faith, which is very important, as well as her relationship to her mother, whom I\u2019ve never met. The song goes deep into a lot of stuff that I struggle to talk or even think about, so it was hard to write, and it\u2019s weird that it even exists.\u201d<\/p>\n There are countless ways to measure decency, but adults being open about loving their mums is perhaps one of the clearest indicators. Though \u2018Mother Pray For Me\u2019 is just one song, it speaks broadly to the overall allure of The Beths, who switch back to punky and melodic noise just as seamlessly as they transition out of it. Through it all, the atmosphere they create stays optimistic and refreshingly goddamn uplifting.<\/p>\n When they passed through Los Angeles to launch\u00a0Straight Line Was a Lie<\/em>\u00a0in late August, I was lucky enough to watch them play the entire album at the Bob Baker Marionette Theatre. For context, said venue is the oldest functioning puppet theatre in the United States, and yes, actual puppets (with human support, of course) were prancing around throughout the sprightly performance.<\/p>\n Peppered between the live renditions of their latest music was the unisex and less aggressive alternative to laddish banter by Stokes and bandmates Jonathan Pearce, Benjamin Sinclair and Tristan Deck. Being in a room with the four of them felt like we were all friends, amused by how entertaining dolls can be even for grown-ups. This was actually such a relief, because it also meant momentarily shedding the full-time sobriety of adulthood.<\/p>\n How could you not love those who create a space for you to feel that way?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Whereas\u00a0The Beths\u00a0have a solid track record that\u2019s commensurate with how long they\u2019ve been around, their joint character makes it even easier to develop a fondness … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3837,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/cdn1.faroutmagazine.co.uk\/uploads\/1\/2025\/10\/The-Beths-2025-Frances-Carter-Far-Out-Magazine-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/div>