On their second full-length, Bench Press have refined their sound by maintaining some the frantic aggression of their self-titled debut, but have also brought a tighter approach to both melodicism and structure. Almost every song clocks in at under three minutes as a testament to their ‘don’t bore us, get to the chorus’ philosophy. Bench Press project the wirey minimalism of early Talking Heads and Devo through a lens of heavier late-80s contemporary post-punk in a distinct shade of Melbourne garage. What was once easily categorised as post-punk can just as accurately be described as ‘really, really loud pop music’ and it’s really, really good.

The second taste of Not The Past, Can’t Be The Future comes via “Old. Self. Doubt”, which perfectly exemplifies the Bench Press ethos - it's short, sharp, clean and loud.

On Not The Past, Can’t Be The Future, thematically frontman Jack Stavrakis explores negative attitudes within himself and the wider community in order to grow and learn from mistakes. He pokes fun at bad attitudes - like overgrown boys at shows - but also attempts to highlight positives; such as feeling at home and a sense of awe at the determined. He does so with an eye towards the future and introspection on how he can improve as an individual.

Earlier in the year, Bench Press released the album’s first single “Respite”. A splintery dose of raucous catharsis you can dance to, upon its release "Respite" was #1 on the AMRAP Metro Chart and added to several stations around the country, including triple j Unearthed where Home & Hosed host Declan Byrne quipped, “gonna have to go home and get me thongs because i'm not crossing this jagged, sharp edged number barefoot”.

Bench Press will hit the road in support of Not The Past, Can’t Be The Future throughout July and August. Tickets are available at their respective venues.