With their second full-length record just days away from release, Ben Quad isn’t the same band that they once were. Emerging from Oklahoma City’s DIY emo scene in 2018, the post-emo quartet has skyrocketed in popularity since their debut album I’m Scared That’s All There Is first arrived in 2022. The record caught the attention of audiences across the world with its classic Midwest emo influence and resonating themes of uncertainty, anxiety and doubt for the future ahead.
Now, Ben Quad revisits future uncertainties through a positive and hopeful lens with Wisher. The album, which releases this Friday, Nov. 14th via Pure Noise Records, displays a more mature and confident side of their artistry. Wisher signifies growth amidst the chaos of life and choosing to focus on the brighter moments.
Melodic Magazine sat down with vocalist/guitarist Sam Wegrzynski, vocalist/bassist Henry Shields, and guitarist Edgar Viveros ahead of Wisher’s release to talk about the themes found on the record, how they’ve grown in the process of making it, and more.
Your second full-length album, Wisher, comes out on Nov. 14th. Congratulations on that! Can you guys walk me through the meaning behind the album and how it came together?
Edgar: This record specifically to us is the story we wanna tell to make a continuation off of the first record. The first record, I’m Scared That’s All There Is, is this record where it kind of explains itself in the title. It’s a little bit gloomy and we wanted to explore that topic, but in a brighter context. I think with all these songs we’re talking about how yeah, it is gonna be shitty and that’s just like an unavoidable fact of life. Instead of dwelling on that, a lot of it is focusing on the brighter moments in life and that there’s these small moments in our lives that make life worth living.
So I think that’s really what the record is about. It’s holding onto those small moments. I think the record has an overall bright tone to it, which I like. It’s not super sad, even though there are sad moments. The whole record talks about past experiences and us trying to navigate life as adults going into our thirties.
Something I really like about this album cycle so far is the visuals that have been accompanying Wisher. What was your main inspiration for the cover and how does that tie into the theme of the album?
Edgar: We got a really cool person we worked with, his name is Moron God, and we really didn’t really have a vision for the artwork going into it. We spent a good amount of time brainstorming. I think the general vibe we were going for was nostalgia and going back to those moments in our lives that we hold onto. You look at the layout and it’s pictures of people swimming, couples holding hands or even a house, which is very nostalgic.
The whole record is filled with these clutched-up guitars, synths and more electronic influence. We’re making this transition into the sound, why not just throw in some stuff to reflect that on the artwork? So you’ll look on the front cover and the back cover and it’s filled with all these glitches and stuff. We had our artists purposely corrupt the images for us, which I really liked about the artwork too. It’s evoking nostalgia, but also in a way that introduces the future shit in it.
Awesome. I really like the album cover, so thank you for sharing all that! Speaking about the shift in your sound, you stated that a lot of the influence for this album came from bands like Motion City Soundtrack, The All-American Rejects and Taking Back Sunday. What made you guys want to branch out from your usual Midwest emo sound and try something different with this record?
Edgar: We just want it to sound like bands that we grew up listening to. I feel like All-American Rejects come from our stomping grounds, so they’ve always been a big influence on us.
[For] the vocals, we were like, let’s really lean on this pop sensibility. Let’s make the stuff like the legends were making 10 years ago and try that. I think that’s how the album really came together. We were just trying new things on top of stuff that we already knew we were good at and I think it came out really well.
Sam: Yeah, I think a lot of people already called us nostalgic. They would listen to our previous stuff that we had put out and they would call it nostalgic, but new. So I think we just leaned into it and had a really good time fully being like, “okay, let’s be nostalgic, but still sound new.”
How do you think you guys have grown as artists since the release of your debut album, I’m Scared That’s All There Is?
Sam: It’s really hard to get out of a bubble like Oklahoma. So I think we were kind of forced to grow at a crazy rate. We were thrown from basically like, a little cult following to Hot Mulligan taking us out in front of like 2000 people every night.
Even in our songs, I mean, we have a lyric in this upcoming album: “I’ve grown so much in seven years, so why can’t I expect the same from you?” and I think we’ve grown a lot, but it’s hard to say how. It just feels like we’ve matured. I don’t even know how to describe it.
Edgar: Yeah, it’s through a lot of stuff. It’s so hard to quantify because we’ve been a band for so long and feel like within the last couple years we’ve been really thrown through the deep end. I feel like we’re a way different band than we were even right before the Hot Mulligan tour.
I feel like that tour showed us how to be a touring band, but then as recording artists, we’ve also grown a lot. [For] this last recording experience, we went and did an actual session in a studio. We flew out to [New] Jersey and I feel like that was such a formative moment for us because it put pressure on us. You only have three weeks, label’s paying for it and you’re really learning how to work within a time constraint. I think that pushed us as artists and it pushed us to be able to work in a real studio with a producer who really knows his stuff.
I think that experience has just helped us become better writers. We’re more confident in our songwriting and definitely more confident than we were putting out the first record. I think we walked into that studio feeling pretty good, and we walked out feeling amazing. We’re super confident on that record.
Sam: Yeah, and I think to bring it even back to your point earlier, Edgar, about the sound of the record, like we’re a quote unquote emo band, but it’s really hard to be super sad when we’re literally getting to live our dream all of a sudden. It’s like I’m still sad about some things, of course, there’s a lot of awful things going on, but I think balancing the two is the best part.
We’re looking at the happy moments a lot more and I think that’s how we’ve matured. We’ve grown into not being such Debbie downers and even though we’re still maybe a bit of downers, we’re really trying this time.
I’m super stoked to see the differences on this album. So far, you’ve released two singles, “It’s Just A Title” and “Painless.” What has it been like watching the response to these two tracks?
Edgar: It’s been so cool. They’ve been so well received. I think as far as attention, they’ve gotten the most attention out of any of our songs we’ve ever released.
Ephemera did great and everything, but even just these two singles, a lot more ears are getting to hear these that wouldn’t have heard it. Now we have Pure Noise really pushing the ads for us and stuff, which really helps. I saw multiple comments on our TikToks or our YouTube video saying, “These guys popped up as I was scrolling and now I’m here.” So, it’s been incredible. Better than I could have even imagined, honestly.
“Painless” is a really beautiful track with very apparent influences from 2000s emo and also the most recent EP, Ephemera, that you guys released. Can you expand upon the meaning behind this one and the process of creating it?
Edgar: This one is really about processing loss. With these lyrics, we wanted them to be really straightforward, heart-on-your-sleeve lyrics, especially with the ending. We just wanted to make lyrics that were honest and really heartfelt and I think we achieved that.
We always had this vision for it to be like a Taking Back Sunday homage. So right off the bat I was like, Henry and Sam need to do the back and forth trading that sounds straight up Taking Back Sunday’s alley. A lot of people have been messaging us and saying this sounds exactly like early 2000s emo, so I think we accomplished what we were setting out to do.
With this one, it was the first song that came into fruition. We got the demo done pretty fast and it’s one of the only songs that we actually had lyrics for going into the studio. It was an easy song to form because we had that early 2000s reference point and Ephemera. That breakdown was so easy to write just because we were like, “Alright, we’re good at this. Let’s put a breakdown at the end.”
Overall it was just a really easy song to write and the first song on the record where we were like, “Yeah, we can write a record off of this.” I think that was the launching point, then the rest of the record came after that.
Also on the album, you guys have a stacked lineup of collaborations between Nathan from Microwave, Zayna from Sweet Pill, and Sam from Treaty Oak Revival. What was it like getting to work with these artists for the record and what led to it happening?
Edgar: You know what’s funny is we didn’t actually meet any of these people in a studio. They’re all our friends in some capacity. We went on tour with Nate from Microwave and they’re some of the sweetest guys ever.
Sam: I literally texted him and was like, “Hey, Nate, we’ve got a record coming out. We would love if you could be on a song.” Before I could even set my phone down on the table, he came back with, “Yes, absolutely. Just send it to me.” The guy’s just the best. He’s incredible.
Edgar: It’s honestly a full-circle moment. I feel like when we started this band, it was very much like, “Hey, let’s make a band that sounds like Microwave.” Then, you know, we got to tour with that band and then put a song out with them years later. It’s just so full circle.
With the rest of the artists, Sweet Pill’s always been in our perimeter. They’ve always been a band on the come-up with us. I feel like we always get mentioned with Sweet Pill and other bands like that, and it’s just a no-brainer. We wanted a feature with a vocalist with a high timbre, super talented. We were like, “Let’s just get the best vocalist in the scene,” so we hit up Zayna.
That was super cool. I think we’ve hung out with them a couple times in green rooms and saying hi at the merch table, but I don’t think we’ve ever sat down and chilled so that’s a long overdue thing.
Sam: It was so flattering when we sent it to them too, they were so stoked on it. To have a band like Sweet Pill excited to work with you is just as crazy as anything else.
Edgar: Sam from Treaty Oak is a fun one because I feel like he’s in this big crazy country band and one day we get a tag on a reel or something that’s like, “Whoa, nice Ben Quad shirt.” I look at it and it’s this post with a 100,000 likes and the singer has our shirt on. I messaged him and said hi and I’m a big fan of his music. It’s so cool because it’s like this arena rock country, but it’s somehow influenced by Title Fight.
So we just became fans of this country band and they had been fans of us for a while. We remained internet mutuals for like a year and a half and then one day I was like, “Hey, Sam, do you want to do vocals on this track?” And he was immediately down, which I think is the sickest thing ever. Just having that cross-genre moment, you know?
Sam: What is country if not farm emo anyway, though, you know?
You’re so right and I’m very excited for all these collaborations. What song from the record are you most excited for people to hear and why?
Edgar: My favorite one for people to hear is this song called “West of West.” I like it because we get super crunchy on it. It’s the one with Microwave on it and it’s grungy, but has this country twang to it. It also has the craziest little guitar glitches in it. I do this guitar solo where I basically duel against myself. It’s hard to describe unless you listen to it. It’s this mixture of all these different new sounds that people won’t expect from us, so I’m excited to see what the reaction to that one will be.
Henry: I would say “Classic Case of Guy on the Ground.” That’s probably one of my favorite songs on the album and I love the influence of Third Eye Blind and stuff like that. I just love the general chill vibe of that song. I’m really excited for people to hear that one.
Sam: That’s so funny. They both stole both of mine. I’m just gonna pick both of them. “West of West” is probably my favorite song sonically we’ve ever written. To have Nate on it, again such a crazy full-circle moment.
The problem with that one though, is that it’s too sad. I can’t listen to it all the time. I get teary-eyed. Then on the flip side, we have a song called “Classic Case of Guy on the Ground,” which I just wanted to rip off Third Eye Blind so bad. I wanted to have a fun hooky pop-rock song that fit in a 90s movie. I think the duality of those two, that’s a whiplash right there.
You guys are set to hit the road with Koyo very, very soon. What are you most looking forward to about these upcoming dates?
Edgar: For me personally, I’m a big fan of one of the bands, I Promised the World. I’ve been following them since they went by Cinema and I’m a big fan of that era of metalcore. Seeing those guys rip it every day is gonna be super cool.
I think in general, I just like playing in front of people. When you’re in the worst moments of [touring], it’s the worst thing ever, but when you look back on it, you’re like, “Damn, that’s the only thing I ever wanna do.” I’m excited to go play music and only live in that for a month and a half.
Sam: I love the hang. It’s the best job in the world. You get to go hang out with new friends and old friends every night. Your job is having a good time, making people happy or a little sad. I’m just excited to be back out there.
Also Edgar turned us onto [I Promised the World] a long time ago, and it’s crazy how often [and] how lucky we’ve been that we get to tour with these bands that we listen to and that we’ve been listening to for a while. It’s so cool. So I think that’s another part, just being able to tour with bands like Koyo and I Promised the World [and] being a part of the scene that we love.
When people leave a Ben Quad show, what is one thing you want them to take away from that experience?
Edgar: I feel like mine is gonna be a boring answer, but honestly, if someone just walks away being like, “Man, that was sick!” I feel like that’s all I care about.
Henry: Yeah, I completely agree.
Sam: As long as someone literally just walks away going, “Wow, that was really cool.” Even if they don’t want to look us up, as long as they walk away like “that was worth my time.” I just don’t wanna waste anyone’s time. I think that’s the biggest thing, right? We only got so much of that, so as long as we’re not wasting anyone’s time, I’m excited to be here.
Ben Quad is currently touring across the United States supporting Koyo, which wraps up on Nov. 23rd in New York City. The group will then kick off 2026 supporting Arm’s Length across the UK and Europe in early February.
Tickets and information for all of Ben Quad’s upcoming shows can be found here.
Keep up with Ben Quad: Instagram // X // Website // Facebook // TikTok
