The Beths and Beach Bunny at Denver Botanic Gardens

This concert is part of Denver Botanic Gardens Summer Concert Series presented by UMB and produced with Swallow Hill Music - click here for full series info.

The Beths know the futility of straight lines. Existential vertigo serves as the primary theme on the New Zealand indie heroes’ fourth album Straight Line Was A Lie (their first for new label ANTI-), on which The Beths — led by songwriter Elizabeth Stokes — posit that the only way round is through. That even after going through difficult, transformative experiences, you can still feel as though you’ve ended up in the same place. It’s a bewildering thing, realising that life and personal growth are cyclical and continual. That a chapter doesn’t always end with peace and acceptance.

Written in Los Angeles and self-recorded in the band’s hometown of Auckland, Straight Line Was A Lie follows 2022’s critically celebrated LP Expert In A Dying Field. This time Stokes delves deeper into her psyche to address everything from roundabout progress (“Straight Line Was A Lie”) to physical and mental health challenges (“Metal,” “No Joy”) and fraught family dynamics (“Mother Pray For Me”).

Beach Bunny is a Chicago-based indie pop-rock band led by singer-songwriter Lili Trifilio. They broke out with their viral single “Prom Queen” and are known for catchy, emotionally honest songs blending upbeat melodies with heartfelt lyrics.