When Spraynard broke up in 2012, I had only heard their name from fliers and friends. Two years later, I was screaming along to their infectious forms of pop punk in lieu of their reunion. With a reunion comes new songs and Spraynard, newly signed to the infamous Jade Tree Records, are certainly delivering. Bench is a two song 7-inch that embodies the newer, slightly darker sound Spraynard have talked about moving towards.

“Bench” is a loud and prominent track for Spraynard. Mostly known for their riffs, the song embodies a strongly distorted riff instead of the usual clean ones. The song is a much more washed up version of anything the band has ever recorded, yet still maintains the integrity of everything the band stands for. The new track to the band’s new album, Mable introduces the darker styling the band are probably hard at work writing to reinvent their sound. I’m honestly really excited to hear the band’s progression based solely off this track. It’s alluding, slow and essentially a balance between what Spraynard was to what they eventually will allude to be in similar progressions like Title Fight and Turnover.

The cover exemplifies an mid range of Spraynard’s old sound and new sound. It has elements of both the new and old sounds of Spraynard. The John Crodian cover of “The End of Rock Piano” portrays the sounds that make Spraynard worthy of creating a cover such as this.

Overall, Spraynard are giving the subtle hint of their darker side with “Bench.” While their cover exemplifies an older sounding Spraynard, the song is alas a cover and may give hope to fans who aren’t ready to hear a different band. I’m personally excited to see what kind of album their full length turns out to be. Until then, we have “Bench.”