The Hara are back with their sophomore studio record, and they’re funnelling their fire into personal resistance. Well, “back” is a bit of a stretch as they’ve been releasing a steady string of singles since they dropped ‘Survival Mode’ back in 2023, constantly delivering high energy live shows in the meantime. The good news is that if you’re already into The Hara’s neo-electro brand of emo, you’re going to love ‘The Fallout’: it’s very similar to their last record, with slightly more of an emphasis on raw personal strength. That’s also the bad news, because there’s no sudden departures on this record or dramatic genre changes. If what you’ve got is powerful, very jumpable, very accessible and fundamentally not broken, then there’s no urgent need to fix it.
It feels like there’s been some core incidents in vocalist Josh Taylor’s life over the last two-and-a-bit years, and he’s working through them. “I wear my skin like a trophy so they give a fuck about me,” he croons to open record on ‘Trophy’, this desire to be seen burning brighter than the guitar flair that backs his sentiment. Similarly, ‘Twist The Arrows’ takes the nihilistic desire to embrace whatever it takes to feel and turns the inner pain into huge choruses. When he lets the rage out in full on ‘Psycho Killer’ (sadly, not a Talking Heads cover) then we get the cathartic scream that we’ll be feeling in our gut on their next tour. Then we’ve got ‘Stay’, the mixed-feelings-breakup song that betrays a touch of vulnerability in it’s muted verses before an opened, screamed out release that doesn’t resort to cliche.
Whatever Taylor’s going through, he’s certain that he’s going to win, and the impending victory drives ‘The Fallout’. “Those kings will fall,” he crows on ‘Kings’, another impending live favourite, and The Hara’s collab with As December Falls on ‘Violence’ takes a bold stance on the duet with guitar overpowering their synth-heavy tendencies. That said, when they go full robot for ‘Intergalactic Sabotage’ (again, sadly not a Beastie Boys mashup) and take on society’s pressures, it’s a glorious clap along pop moment, and a bit of a Kid Kapichi sneer lights up the emo depths. Closing with ‘Enemy’ counts as a rollicking call to arms, all thrash and resolute melodies. The Hara are going to win against whoever’s closing in on them, even if its their own doubts.
As The Hara continue their trajectory towards world domination, or at least controlling bigger stages, ‘The Fallout’ will be seen as a necessary chapter in their story. It’s a strong sophomore album that feels like it’s written by a band in progress towards greater things. We’ve got the massive singles in place, and the solid fan favourites that ‘The Fallout’ will coalesce into being, so now we just have to sit back and see what’s up their heavily tattooed sleeves. Or, more accurately, slam like it’s our last day on earth next time they play near us.
Kate Allvey