San Diego rock outfit benches announce the new EP Kill The Lights with the release of its title track. Cinematic, poignant and lightly paranoid, this first offering searches for a temporary fix to drown out feelings that have gotten too loud. Created in one night fueled entirely by frustration, the song offers no permanent solution as the repeated “All the years fade from my mind” transitions into “It’s just a fantasy.”
benches have again enlisted GRAMMY-nominated mixer Martin Cooke, who has produced / mixed several of their recent singles, for their upcoming project. The Kill The Lights EP will be released in full on May 23.
“At its core, the song is about fear,” shares vocalist Anson Kelley. “I think it’s a very common feeling to be afraid to make the wrong decision and end up living a life that isn’t in line with what you were hoping for. This song is like an anxiety-driven play-by-play of a worst-case scenario. A life where you made all the wrong decisions and every time you catch a glimpse of the ghost in the rearview, you drive faster in the opposite direction trying to escape it.”
He muses, “I think fear and worry and this sort of existential dread that’s tied to it all is a driving factor in a lot of what I do, and I think these emotions make for potent songs. Sometimes when we write, we like to try and have a destination in mind. And most times, anxiety and uncertainty will creep up and bleed into the work. So a lot of times I just end up writing about these all-consuming fears, unintentionally. You have to embrace what scares you and face it head on. Usually if something scares you, there’s something important there.”
benches are a group consisting of Anson Kelley (vocals/guitar), Ethan Bowers (drums), Evan Ojeda (lead guitar), and Charlie Baird (bass).
