It’s been a busy year for The Hara, and it will stay that way for the Manchester band right through to December, when they take in another UK tour, having already played here from January to March.
The three-piece, featuring vocalist Josh Taylor, drummer Jack Kennedy and guitarist Zack Breen, began the year with the release of their latest album The Fallout, a raucous genre mash-up of alternative rock, metalcore and emo, alongside the single ‘Twist the Arrows’.
Talking about the December tour, Breen said: “The Fallout was us tearing everything down and rebuilding louder, heavier, and more honest. The way the fans have ferociously made it their own has been insane. Going back on tour now feels like lighting the fuse. We are ready to bring the chaos.”
Taylor added: “The Fallout was made for our live shows. Pure energy and riffs throughout and storytelling that deserves big stages, so we cannot wait to get this record back out for round 2 in bigger venues across the UK and Europe! Let’s make each night an experience we will all never forget.”
Throughout the year The Hara have continued to tour, playing the main stage at both Reading and Leeds, as well as main stage performances at Rock For People and Mighty Sounds Festival in the Czech Republic. Summer festival dates included Bospop in the Netherlands, Radar in the UK, Slavnosti in the Czech Republic, Nu_Blood Festival in Poland and Mangata in Nottingham.
Earlier this year, Ukraine rockers The Hardkiss collaborated with The Hara on their sixth single, ‘I Love You’. The song is the only UK-Ukraine feature on The Hardkiss‘ album Grey Hound and marks a further evolution in the band’s sound toward heavier, industrial-driven modern rock.
Formed in 2011, The Hardkiss are one of Ukraine’s most prominent modern rock acts, known for arena-scale performances, award-winning releases, and international touring across Europe and North America.
‘I Love You’ fuses metal and industrial elements into a dark, high-intensity love song about emotional dependency.
Talking about the collaboration, band member Julia Sanina said: “For Grey Hound we really wanted a collab that would bring some explosive male energy and extra vocal drive into the album. One day we randomly saw The Hara on Instagram and instantly loved the vibe of the whole band and Josh’s voice of course. We texted them first, and they replied super-fast. Honestly, from the first idea to the finished song, it took less than a month. These days a lot of artists feel pretty closed off when it comes to collaborations, so we’re really happy this one happened so naturally and turned into such a powerful track.”
Taylor added: “Collaborating with The Hardkiss has been an absolute epic time. They sent over their demo idea, and I was instantly invested so the same day I got on the mic and wrote and recorded my parts for the song. I had so much fun shooting the music video with Val and Julia too who are just the loveliest people to work with. It’s a genuine headline set festival banger so make sure you play this one on full volume!”
The aforementioned ‘Twist the Arrows’ is a window into the juxtaposition of being in a band. From the euphoric highs of performing to a packed-out crowd to the quietness of everyday life, feeling like you have no purpose or structure, wanting and waiting to feel that high again. “The grind and pressure of trying to make your dreams come true can feel like a never-ending battle,” the band said. “Always searching for validation and self-worth in a world where numbers seem like everything, and so sometimes when the highs don’t exist, escapism is the only saviour.”
The video for that single was filmed across the band’s headline tours in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic in November last year. Talking about it, Josh Taylor revealed: “The video features a mix of us on stage at the shows and us in our non-band mode wandering the cities of Europe, which is a nod to what the song is about: the highs of being on stage and the personas we become, and then having to navigate the come down and feeling of the normality of everyday life which send us into very low mental states, feeling like we are lost and have no purpose.”
The Hara December UK tour:
- 3 December: Cathouse, Glasgow
- 4 December: Rebellion, Manchester
- 5 December: Asylum, Birmingham
- 6 December: Exchange, Bristol
- 8 December: Joiners, Southampton
- 9 December: Underworld, London
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