For Immediate Release

April 23, 2025

BENCHES RELEASE SHARP, PARANOID NEW SINGLE 

"KILL THE LIGHTS" — STREAM

TITLE TRACK FROM NEWLY ANNOUNCED EP,

SET FOR RELEASE ON MAY 23

RECENTLY WRAPPED TOUR RUN WITH INHALER BEFORE

HEADLINE TOUR CONTINUES NEXT MONTH + PERFORMANCES AT WONDERFRONT AND LOLLAPALOOZA — SEE ALL DATES HERE

“Kill The Lights” single artwork [Download]

“The angst shines through their raunchy, noisy 2000s-era guitar tones…”

“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.”

Today, 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” — Stream.

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.”

Press photo by Attiken Vega [Download]

After recently wrapping up a tour supporting Inhaler, benches will soon continue along their own headline run. Following a hometown appearance at Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival they will be supported by Pleasure Pill across the Western US, in advance of an appearance at Lollapalooza later in the summer. See all upcoming dates here and below. 

UPCOMING TOUR DATES

May 18 - Wonderfront Music & Arts Festival - San Diego, CA

May 28 - The Independent - San Francisco, CA

May 29 - Polaris Hall - Portland, OR 

May 31 - Barboza - Seattle, WA

June 1 - Biltmore Cabaret - Vancouver, BC

June 4 - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT

June 5 - Lost Lake - Denver, CO

June 7 - Launchpad - Albuquerque, NM

June 8 - Valley Bar - Phoenix, AZ

June 10 - Constellation Room - Costa Mesa, CA

June 11 - Echoplex - Los Angeles, CA

June 12 - Music Box - San Diego, CA

July 31 - August 3 - Lollapalooza - Chicago, IL

All tour info here

ABOUT BENCHES:

benches are a group consisting of Anson Kelley (vocals/guitar), Ethan Bowers (drums), Evan Ojeda (lead guitar), and Charlie Baird (bass). 

Following the success of earlier singles such as “Monodrama” and “Violent”, benches return with a new EP consisting of increasingly complex and nuanced songs, resulting in standouts “Naive” and the upcoming title track “Kill the Lights”. Their upcoming EP Kill The Lights kicks off with the title track on April 23rd.

The band has played with notable acts such as Inhaler, Blossoms, and IDKHOW. They have previously played at Shaky Knees, and are set to make an appearance at Lollapalooza later this year. They are headlining this summer all over the western US.

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For more information on benches, please visit:

Website | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music

For all benches press materials and inquiries, please contact:

Madi Florence | madi@bighassle.com