Today marks the release of the new EP Whitey by queer punk rock band The Dead Betties. The EP was self-produced by the band. It features five powerful tracks that find them tearing into romanticized violence and white supremacy, talking about surviving sexual violence, reclaiming their energy, and paying tribute to Liz Phair. Speaking about the EP, lead singer and bassist Joshua Ackley said,
”I’m really proud of what we've managed to pull off in our career—and now we're sitting back and looking at what's happening in the world and realizing that, not only is it really time for us to do what we set out to do, but it's our responsibility, because we're the adults now. It's on us as a society to do better and actually put out the art that we want to hear, instead of sitting back and complaining about not hearing it.”
We caught up with Joshua Ackley to hear what went into each of the tracks that make up Whitey. Whitey is available everywhere now via Rotten Princess Records. Listen to the EP and read the track-by-track breakdown below!
Whitey Track-by-Track Breakdown
1. Whatever, Anyway
This song came from my frustration with how America romanticizes its own violence. I kept seeing this nostalgia for “frontier freedom” that completely erases what was stolen to build it. It’s a rejection of that myth, of cowboy cosplay and curated rebellion, and a reminder that pretending the past was simpler is one of our biggest national lies.
2. Whitey
“Whitey” is about the hollowness of whiteness as a cultural contract. It’s not about attacking people; it’s about exposing a system that rewards silence, disconnection, and compliance. Writing it was like peeling back the layers of my own conditioning—realizing how much of what we’re taught to value is built on absence.
3. Game Over
This one’s about loving people who can’t love themselves and the collateral damage that leaves behind. It’s messy, melodic, and angry, but there’s also freedom in it. The moment you stop trying to fix someone else’s self-hate, you start reclaiming your own energy.
4. Girls! Girls! Girls! (Liz Phair cover)
Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville saved me when I was a teenager, so covering “Girls! Girls! Girls!” felt like paying tribute and pushing it further. We wanted to channel the danger and defiance that record gave queer kids like me in the ’90s. It’s not nostalgia, it’s a resurrection of that survival energy, louder and sharper for now.
5. What’s a Good Victim Supposed to Say?
This song is the most personal thing I’ve ever written. It’s about surviving sexual violence and how society scripts what a “good victim” should look or sound like. I wanted to show the contradiction—how we demand honesty from survivors but punish them for it—and leave the song unresolved, because that’s what survival actually feels like.