News: Benchmarks take a Kerouac look at modern dating on new single "Girls and Boys"

Nashville-based indie punk band Benchmarks will be releasing their debut full-length Our Undivided Attention on March 24th via SofaBurn Records. The group has teamed up with Substream Magazine to premiere the album's third single "Girls and Boys," a driving, midtempo rock sound with gorgeous harmonies and a story about the world of dating that most single people experience these days.

"We've been playing this one live for the last two years and I'm glad we finally put it to tape," says vocalist Todd Farrell Jr., who also pulls double duty as the lead guitarist for the Columbus punk band Two Cow Garage. "It started with a friend and I wanting to write a very shoegaz-y dream pop song like The 1975 or something. We got started on it, but it never really turned into anything. About a year later, I still had the chord progression in my head, and I took it to the band. We developed the idea even further, gave it a weird 12/8 time signature, and it became what it is now. Lyrically, it's sort of about our modern culture of dating, hooking up, or what have you, always looking for something new, and being afraid to lose what you have. I basically stole a lot from Kerouac and it's sort of a companion piece to "American Night" from our last EP (which also stole a lot from Kerouac, ha)."

Our Undivided Attention immediately follows The American Night EP, released in June 2015 and was mixed by Jay Maas (Defeater, Transit, Polar Bear Club, Make Do And Mend) and produced by the band themselves. Listen to the album's first two singles "Frames" and "Let You Down" on Spotify.

Pre-order physical copies via SofaBurn Records.

Tour dates:
4/4 – Atlanta, GA – Vinyl (with Killing Kuddles and Reconciler)
4/5 – Charlotte, NC – The Milestone (with Almost People and Old Heavy Hands)
4/6 – Greensboro, NC – The Corner Bar (with AP/OHH)…
4/7 – Raleigh, NC – Slim’s (with AP/OHH/ Dragmatic)
4/8 – Norfolk, VA – Norfolk Tap House (with AP/ The Record Collection)
4/9 – Arlington, VA – House Show
4/10 – Baltimore, MD – The Depot
4/11 – Winchester, VA – Hopscotch Coffee (with Michael Frazier)
4/13 – New Brighton – PA – Wooly Bully’s (with The Hawkeyes)
4/14 – Columbus, OH – The Tree Bar
4/15 – Lexington, KY – The Green Lantern Bar
6/10 - Cincinnati, OH - The Southgate House Revival * (with The Quiet Hollers)
6/13 - Bloomington, IN - TBA *
6/14 - Chicago, IL - Liar's Club * (with The C-Sides and Halligan)
6/16 - Minneapolis, MN - Hexagon Bar * (with The Right Here and Cory Call of Arliss Nancy)
6/17 - Annandale, MN - Annandale Roadhouse * (with The Right Here and Cory Call of Arliss Nancy)
6/19 - Kansas City, MO - TBA *
6/20 - St. Louis, MO - TBA *
6/21 - Louisville, KY - TBA *

*with Alone at 3am