Big news from the San Diego indie rock world: benches are back and they’re hitting hard. Their sharp new single Kill The Lights just dropped, and it’s the title track from their upcoming EP, officially landing May 23. Hit play and get ready for a wild ride.
Fresh off a killer tour supporting Inhaler, benches are keeping the momentum alive with their own headline run kicking off next month — plus major festival stops at Wonderfront and Lollapalooza. (Yeah, it’s gonna be a big summer.) Full tour dates below — you know the drill.
Kill The Lights isn’t just a song — it’s a full-body experience. Fueled by late-night frustration and raw emotion, it’s a cinematic, slightly paranoid dive into the chaos of trying to outrun your past. Spoiler: it’s not really possible, and that’s kinda the point.
Working again with GRAMMY-nominated mixer Martin Cooke, benches have polished their signature sound: bittersweet harmonies, crunchy 2000s-era guitars, and that perfect cocktail of joy and sadness we all secretly (or not-so-secretly) love.
Frontman Anson Kelley says it best: “At its core, it’s about fear. About being scared you’ll wake up one day and realize you made all the wrong moves. It’s an anxiety trip — a worst-case scenario in motion.”
He adds, “Honestly, fear drives a lot of what we write. It’s messy, but there’s magic in embracing it.”
About the EP
‘Kill The Lights’ promises a batch of songs even deeper and more complex than their earlier work (shoutout to Monodrama and Violent). New standouts like Naive and the title track are already showing just how far benches are pushing their sound — and we’re here for it.
Meet the Band:
- Anson Kelley (vocals/guitar)
- Ethan Bowers (drums)
- Evan Ojeda (lead guitar)
- Charlie Baird (bass)
They’ve shared the stage with heavy-hitters like Inhaler, Blossoms, and IDKHOW, played festivals like Shaky Knees, and are now gearing up for an epic Lolla set. This is their summer — don’t sleep on it.
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
Full tour info right here.
More on benches
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Music
C'mon why don't you leave a comment here