Hot on the heels of their Pure Noise Records signing announcement, the post-emo and butt rock band Ben Quad have announced their upcoming new EP, Ephemera, which will be released on October 25.
The band also released their second single from the record today, “Your Face As An Effigy,” with an accompanying music video. Showcasing Deafheaven-inspired blast beats, panic chord breakdowns, and melodic vocal lines from the early 2000s, this is the most dynamic song they have written yet.
Ben Quad shares their thoughts on the new single and music video below:
“Lyrically, this is the most open-ended on the EP. This song is about finding solidarity within the group you identify with and overcoming the deceivers who seek to ruin you. The music video highlights this concept of solidarity by focusing on the brotherhood aspect of the band. The political undertones of the song title were purposeful in the sense that we wanted to paint a picture of overcoming a system that seeks to destroy us.”
Taking sonic cues from bands such as William Bonney, Pg. 99, and Underoath, Ephemera is Ben Quad’s momentary shift to a much more aggressive style than 2022’s I’m Scared That’s All There Is. Lyrically, the EP focuses on subjects such as societal decay, anger with one’s environment, and directing that anger into action. Many of the songs are astute indictments of modern society and political establishments.
Last month, the band released their first ferocious single off the EP “You’ll Get Nothing And Like It,” an emotionally pulverizing one minute and 52 seconds of pure catharsis.
Produced by longtime collaborator CJ Cochran from Outline In Color, the recording process was broken up by the band going on tour. That break allowed for extra contemplation and consideration about what they were making. The result is a set of songs that combines the personal and the political to devastating effect. While there are still hints of their old songs contained within Ephemera, the band definitely present a new iteration of their sound with added chemistry and confidence.
Since forming in 2018, the Oklahoma four-piece band—Sam Wegrzynski (lead vocals/rhythm guitar), Henry Shields (backing vocals/bass), Edgar Viveros (lead guitar), and Isaac Young (drums)—have released three split EPs and their 2022 debut album, I’m Scared That’s All There Is. Those records, alongside tours with Hot Mulligan, Arm’s Length, and Forests, have helped establish Ben Quad as one of the emo/indie/punk bands to know – a hybrid of all those scenes and sounds that works incredibly well, both live and on record.
