BEN QUAD - EPHEMERA (SWEET TART MARBLE VINYL)

Although the old adage of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' is something that Oklahoma four-piece Ben Quad knew before they began making their new EP, Ephemera, they decided to wholeheartedly ignore it. Since forming in 2018, the 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 around-a hybrid all those scenes and sounds that works incredibly well, both live and on record. - With Ephemera, the band's new EP-their first since signing with Pure Noise-the four-piece have blown all expectations out of the water. Opener "I Did Not Create The Rules" begins with a brief electronic flourish before bursting into a blisteringly intense screamo anthem. It's first line ('It'll be like this forever/Always lost, confused') pointedly lays out the constant struggle of living under capitalism as the music itself violently introduces the band's new musical direction. While there was a hint this change might have been coming in 2022's single "You're Part Of It", this EP's five songs double down hard on that sound. It's a decision the band made because-surprisingly, given listeners' usual disdain for bands experimenting-they'd actually received a host of messages from fans expressing how much they liked that sound. Encouraged, the band leaned into it fully."We did that original screamo track as a flex," admits Wegrzynski, "and it then became our most popular song and gave us the courage to go all out."

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