Future Me Hates Me

Released on August 10, 2018, Future Me Hates Me was the band's debut album, following their extended play Warm Blood in 2016. The album was produced by the band's guitarist Johnathon Pierce, and recorded in-house at his studio on Karangahape Road. Elizabeth Stokes wrote all of the lyrics.[1]

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Stokes hard a hard time articulating exactly what the album was about, mentioning "infatuation or something", "self-hiding" and "self-directed telling-offs".[1] At Rolling Stone, Eli Enis wrote that much of the lyrical content on the album deals with "Stokes' reluctant attitude toward romance, and the anxiety that stems from overthinking her feelings";[1] Jon Dolan wrote that the lyrics were filled with "auto-critical logorrhea".[2]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	83[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Pitchfork	7.9/10[4]
Rolling Stone	[2]
New Zealand Herald	[5]
PopMatters	8/10[6]
The Skinny	[7]
The A.V. Club	B+[8]

Future Me Hates Me received positive reviews from critics; review aggregator Metacritic gave the album a weighted average score of 83/100, based on 11 critic reviews.[3] Larry Fitzmaurice of Pitchfork wrote that it was "one of the most impressive indie-rock debuts of the year... tight, hook-filled songwriting filled with energy and attitude, paired with lyrics that cut to the bone and a sense of confidence that betrays the record's at-times slackened vibe."[4]

At The Skinny, Hayley Scott wrote that "Stokes' songwriting focuses on existential themes and self-deprecation while negating the need for the kind of down-tempo musical styles that typically accompanies sadness... resulting in a perfect riposte to the kind of po-faced cynicism that’s typically associated with angst-y guitar pop."[7] Writing for PopMatters, Justin Cober-Lake said that "the driving pop-rock of the Beths should heat up speakers, with sugary melodies and energetic guitars making for an exciting debut".[6]