The story behind Ben Quad has always felt a little surreal. What started as a Craigslist post between a few Oklahoma kids trading emo playlists turned into viral jokes, packed shows, and later a record deal with Pure Noise Records. Wisher captures that space between luck and control—a band learning how to sound bigger without losing what made their sound matter.
“All these records are just snapshots of where we’re at,” says vocalist and guitarist Sam Wegrzynski. “We’re lucky that people love them, but really, we’re just doing what feels right in the moment.”
Recorded in New Jersey with Jon Markson (Drug Church, The Story So Far), Wisher marks the first time Ben Quad could slow down and explore without limits. “We’d never been in a real studio before,” drummer Isaac Young explains. “Usually, we’d drive somewhere on the weekend, record fast, and go home. This time we stayed for weeks. We woke up with songs and went to bed with them. It changed everything.”
Henry Shields remembers that shift clearly. “Jon had this barn full of instruments—banjos, sleigh bells, a million amps,” he says. “It felt like, ‘Wait, we can actually use all this?’ Suddenly, we weren’t limited by what we’d done before.”
For a band rooted in the DIY sound through one album and five EPs, slowing down felt exciting and unfamiliar. They’d spent years recording fast, getting things done however they could, and suddenly they were in a studio with no rush. It was just four friends sitting with their songs until they started to sound like something new. Wisher isn’t chasing a point—it’s just four friends making something that feels right.
“It was our first time being in a space that let us actually experiment,” guitarist Edgar Viveros says. “Jon was like, ‘If it feels real, leave it.’ Some takes are rough, but they hit harder that way.”
Wisher folds everything together: screamo edges, glitchy production, pop clarity, and the unmistakable Ben Quad humor that peeks through even when the songs sound heavy. “We weren’t scared to make things sound good anymore,” Wegrzynski says. “We used to be like, ‘Oh, that’s too poppy, too clean.’ Now it’s just, does it feel like us? That’s all that matters.”
Where I’m Scared That’s All There Is was built on anxiety, Wisher feels like letting go of it. “That one was about just getting through the day,” Wegrzynski says. “This one’s more like, what happens when you finally start living again?”
That balance between joy and ache became the record’s heartbeat. “We wanted a more hopeful tone,” Viveros adds. “We’re still talking about love and loss and burnout, but it’s flipped. It’s not, ‘Everything sucks’; it’s, ‘Okay, it sucks—but maybe there’s something worth holding onto.’”
“It’s Just a Title” feels like a new direction—the synths wash in and out, giving the song an easy, confident sound. “Painless” shows how tight they’ve gotten as writers. “That one started as a love song,” Wegrzynski laughs, “but it turned into something else halfway through.” “Did You Decide to Skip Arts and Crafts” might be the biggest surprise—a banjo and a feature from Treaty Oak Revival’s Sam Canty that somehow make perfect sense. “We didn’t overthink that one,” Young laughs. “It sounded weird, but it worked. That’s the spirit of this record—stop filtering ideas before they have a chance.”
Even with the growth, Ben Quad haven’t lost their grounding. “The Pure Noise deal didn’t change our mindset,” Shields says. “We still load our own gear, still answer our own DMs.”
When asked where Ben Quad fit into the so-called post-emo moment, Wegrzynski shrugs. “People throw labels around, but we just write what we need to hear. If that’s post-emo, cool. If it’s something else, also cool.” Viveros nods. “People expect emo to be sad. We just want to show that hope can hit just as hard.” Young smiles, thoughtful. “It’s about learning to want good things again.”
In the end, Wisher doesn’t chase nostalgia or hide behind irony—it sounds like a band who finally trust themselves. “It’s us choosing to make things better,” Wegrzynski says. “And that’s enough.”
Wisher is out on Friday and you can preorder it from Pure Noise Records. Follow Ben Quad on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok for future updates.
Photo Credit: Kam Coker
