Benefits preview their upcoming album ‘Constant Noise’ with new Shakk collab ‘Divide’

Benefits have shared new single ‘Divide’, featuring Middlesbrough rapper Shakk, taken from their upcoming album ‘Constant Noise’.

The Teesside group’s second full-length record will arrive via Invada Records on 21st March, following their 2023 debut ‘NAILS’. The new single combines electronic elements with the band’s established heavier sound, incorporating club rhythms and experimental production.

“‘Divide’ is a punk song about society at war with itself over every conceivable issue,” vocalist Kingsley explains. “It’s angry about everything from war, inequality, misplaced patriotism and poverty; to greed and the industrialisation and monetisation of hate. It’s an attempt to bring together everything that Benefits in 2025 represents, both sonically and lyrically. We wanted to merge heavy electronica, traditional punk and protest, to create an assault on the senses in the best possible way. Along with producer James Adrian Brown, we threw beat after beat at it and brought in our friend Shakk to add pure fire and heart. It’s a piece about division but done in the spirit of unity.”

‘Constant Noise’ features several collaborations, including appearances from Peter Doherty, Zera Tønin, and Therapy?’s Neil Cooper. The album was produced with help from electronic musician James Welsh and James Adrian Brown.

Speaking about the album, Hall adds: “none of this sounds joyous, but believe me, it is, we strived for a dark euphoria, plus it was a thrill to make. It’s an album we’re all immensely proud of. We knew it was going to be a risk to go against the formula of our debut, especially as it was so well received by critics, but we never wanted this band to become predictable or get stuck in a rut. We prefer being on the edge of not quite knowing what we’re doing, our discomfort driving creativity. Benefits was designed as a collaborative project and whether that means we get our mate onstage to sing a folk song or ask the drummer from Therapy to play for us, that’s how it survives, and that’s how it will remain.”

The band’s upcoming dates in full read:

MARCH
21 Unit 41, Middlesbrough, UK [Sold Out]
22 Bear Tree, Sheffield, UK
25 Rough Trade East, London, UK
26 Resident, Brighton, UK
27 Just Dropped In, Coventry, UK

APRIL
5 Cro Cro Land, Croydon, UK
6 Cro Cro Land, Croydon, UK
22 Trades Club, Hebden Bridge, UK
23 Social, Hull, UK
24 Bodega, Nottingham, UK
25 Lexington, London, UK [Sold Out]
26 Louisiana, Bristol, UK
27 Hare & Hounds, Birmingham, UK
28 Firebug, Leicester, UK
29 Rum Shack, Glasgow, UK
30 Attic, Leeds, UK

MAY
1 The White Hotel, Manchester, UK
2 Glasshouse, Gateshead, UK