Ben Quad Find Clarity in Chaos on New Single “Painless”

Three years away from the jittery, vibrant riffage that encompassed the essential I’m Scared That’s All There Is,  Oklahoma post-emo band Ben Quad returns with the first single of their follow up LP, entitled “Painless”. The track is an earnest wrestling with grief and loss, painted over by a loving melodic throwback to early 2000’s emo.

Ben Quad’s debut I’m Scared That’s All There Is brims with restless, unyielding energy. Near constant guitar licks compete for space from the frantic drumming and dual vocals, perpetual motion that is physical and infectious. On “Painless”, there is a clear intent to sharpen the melodic aspect of their sound, one that maintains the blistering enthusiasm without as much cluttered space. The opening riff snakes in and out of the driving rhythm section until the bass and drums drop out, leaving the tinkering guitars underneath a softly sung verse. The band works in some heavier vocals, explored on their 2024 EP Ephemera, into a bursting chorus. The back-and-forth dual vocals reminisce of bands like Taking Back Sunday or Alexisonfire building to the climactic plea “I’m here, won’t you please tell me how you’re doing”. The lyrics fumble through rhetorical questions, wishes and hopes all attempting to reconcile or understand the loss of someone close. The track hurdles into a chaotic, screamed refrain that ends the track with a cathartic bang.

On “Painless”, Ben Quad sharpen and combine the sound from their previous releases into a more compact, hard hitting jam. The instrumental energy is still unrelenting but is now more refined – adding more room for melody to the mix. On their new song, Ben Quad offer up a potent, thoughtful sing a long that as good to dance to as it does to shout out loud.