Comprising of Anson Kelley (vocals/guitar), Ethan Bowers (drums), Evan Ojeda (lead guitar) and Charlie Baird (bass), benches has cultivated a dedicated fanbase through an unabashed approach to celebrating youth’s naivety and the anxieties of growing older. Rooting themselves in bittersweet harmonies, the South Californian group have honed a distinct sound that seamlessly melds joy with sadness, all wrapped up in captivating indie rock instrumentals. As they gear up for the release of their EP later this year, alongside eagerly awaited tour and festival appearances, the band unveils their latest single, “Naive”.
Amidst a whirlwind of anxious guitar riffs and pulsating drumbeats, the band’s layered and nuanced instrumentals create an impeccable euphonic backdrop for the emotive vocals of lead singer Anson Kelley, who croons and serenades with heartfelt intensity.
Speaking on the track’s essence and theme, the band explains, “‘Naive’ at its core, is ugly and uncomfortable. It plays between jagged-edged truths and defensive deception. Somewhere between hollow promises and mistakes laid-bare. ‘Naive’ loves to feign sincerity. It lies to itself sometimes, while pacing back and forth, on edge. Drifting forward cautiously in unease. It doesn’t want to expose its many secrets. It doesn’t want to look itself in the mirror, but would rather bury itself far within a hardened exterior. The words are obscured in effects to hide the details. The musical landscape attempts to place you in a world where every wrong turn takes the steering wheel, and doubt waves from every corner, eventually throwing you through the windshield in slow motion down into a sinkhole as life as you know it begins to collapse. This dramatization is necessary to highlight the complexities of a flawed perspective (and make me look even more pretentious but hey whaddya gonna do it’s how I write). ‘Naive’ has that sinking feeling that you may happen upon after unexpectedly unearthing an ugly realization. And it tries to play it cool in the midst of it all.”
Listen to the track…