Ben QUAD RELEASES “I’M SCARED THAT’S ALL THERE IS”
Ben Quad’s “I’m Scared That’s All There Is” is an album packed to the brim with unparalleled vibrance that is bringing a fresh new light to modern emo. This quartet has managed to create a perfect balance between a high-energy pop-punk feel and mellow relaxed emo in a skillful way that ensures that their genre-blending doesn’t compete with itself on this album—even on the same tracks.
The album starts with “Blood for the Blood God”. This song is the perfect opener for “I’m Scared That’s All There Is”. It is a beautiful exhibition of Ben Quad’s masterful layered vocals, catchy guitar bars, and a powerhouse of drums that drives every single track. Lyrically, this track meets its perfect match with the next song, “We’re Gonna Be Here for a While”—both of these tracks discuss owning up to your actions and taking accountability. “We’re Gonna Be Here for a While” feels like a conversation between a friend with lyrics sounding incredibly truthful and authentic to life experiences. This is undoubtedly a ben quad song with resonating guitar lines and solid drums, but there is something that makes this song stand out. It is a very comforting song that left me wanting more of these slower verses from ben quad.
The end of Track 2 was intensely juxtaposed with the powerfully percussive start of Track 3, “Unclench Your Jaw”, in a very fun way. Not only does this quick track serve as a gentle reminder to those of us who tend to always have our jaws clenched, but it is just a very uplifting song that ultimately was relatable lyrically and, although short in time (coming in at a minute and thirty-eight seconds), it did not fall short in any way.
“You Gotta Learn to Listen, Lou” served as a pretty perfect midpoint for this album. This track illustrated the genre-blending previously mentioned with different sounds, tempos, and vocal inflections and tonalities throughout the song. Vocals from front to back on this album are thoroughly impressive and this track exemplifies that point with the band’s signature layered vocal harmonies.
“I’m Scared That’s All There Is” picks up on “It’s a Kinkade!”, which I found to be the highlight of the album. Admittedly, there were no weak points on this album, however, this track might just be the strongest. “It’s a Kinkade!” truly feels like a surge of emotional energy with the drums and guitars in battle with—not against—each other. They push the song along and allow listeners to get a real feel for the emotional impact of the track and listen more closely to the poetic lyrics of this and other tracks. This leads into “When All Other Lights Go Out”, a slow and poignant song that shows off the group’s flexibility. They have the energy without a doubt, but they have such an impressive ability to slow things down and they beautifully do so on this track.
Earlier this month, I was able to review ben quad’s “Joan of Hill”, the single from this album that also closes the album out. Needless to say, after getting a taste of ben quad’s music, I was very excited to hear more. This album fully exceeded any expectations that I had after hearing the single, and in revisiting “Joan of Hill”, I was somehow more impressed with the group. Not only does “When All Other Lights Go Out” seamlessly flow into “Joan of Hill” but hearing this track in the context of the rest of the album just made the entire project feel so cohesive and really brought everything together.
This is such an exciting release and really illuminates a bright future for emo. Fans of Carly Cosgrove, Modern Baseball, and Joyce Manor will definitely find something to love in ben quad’s new album, “I’m Scared That’s All There Is”.