Dr. Sure’s Unusual Practice / Bench Press – “A Split 7″ Between Friends”

This split single pairs up a couple of Aussie punk knucklers with a penchant for the more muscular end of the spectrum. The bands toured together in 2019 and hit it off with plans for a single fermenting by the ends of the run. The set drops in with Dr. Sure’s Unusual Practice. While I’m more familiar with Bench Press, Dr. Sure prove worthy foils to the Melbourne outfit. Both bands feel a bit indebted to the legacy of Eddy Current Suppression Ring, but Dr. Sure skew a bit towards an undercurrent of synth-punk squirm and dramatic flair. As the second side hits Bench Press pick up right where they’d dropped us on 2019’s Not The Past, Can’t Be The Future. Riffs ripple and flex, ever a mirror to the band’s bodybuilding moniker. “More Than That” crashes through the drop ceiling onto the listener, frenetic and fraught before breaking down into a shout along mid-section that’s chaotic but cathartic. “Curdled” dresses itself up with a clip-on countenance that’s always threatening to break. With a burbling synth beneath the wiry guitars, the song feels like a pressure cooker about to pop. Moving into the short format, tension remains Bench Press’ constant ally. The band retains their winning streak on this single, still on of the most insistent voices in the Aussie scene. The new single is out now on Marthouse Records.

Support the artist. Buy it HERE.