The Hara have come a long way from their indie rock roots with their newest LP, The Fallout. The alt rock trio has very much been riding the high of the resurgence of metalcore, having gone viral over lockdown due to various TikTok covers, live performances and skits. Now they’re back, attempting to solidify their status as the hottest newcomers in alt rock.
The Fallout does not seem able to categorise itself, with attempts at genre blending of pop punk influences and heavier tonal shifts being arguably clunky and disjointed. Nevertheless, the lack of transitions alongside the very short track lengths creates a punchy, in your face sound. They’re here, they’re unapologetically loud, and they’re charming in their lack of cohesion.
‘Trophy’ is a strong opener, immediately establishing themes of struggling with mental health and the longing to find a place to belong. The chorus “I wear my skin like a trophy, my heart in a tomb ’til it can’t breathe” crooned over the chugging riff and interjected with fry screams sets the album up to follow in the footsteps of obvious influences like Bring Me The Horizon‘s Sempiternal and the likes of Bad Omens.
However, the album seems to lose its footing in the proceeding tracks. ‘Easier To Die’ and ‘Monsters & Demons’ ramp up the heaviness, with attempts at breakcore that call to mind Nex-Gen in the hyperpop/alt rock sound.
The main issue with this genre blending sound is that The Hara seem to dip their footing into being experimental, then back out at the last second. Tracks like ‘Twist The Arrows’ and ‘Stay’ begin as rock ballads and divulge back into the formula of soft, heavy, soft, heavy, whilst ‘The System’ sounds more like it belongs on a pop punk Greatest Hits compilation CD. Although there is heavy variation with the tonal shifts, the instrumentation rarely varies outside of stereotypical genre conventions.
‘Violence’ (feat. As December Falls) is a pleasant change from the industrial, growling beats of ‘Psycho Killer’. Josh Taylor and Bethany Hunter Jiménez‘s vocals harmonise into creating an anthemic alt rock track, the variation from the previous few songs shaping the album more fully.
‘Intergalactic Sabotage’ attempts to delve into nu metal, with down-tuned guitars and interjections of “Yeah!” calling out the music industry and the concept of “musical castration”. ‘Enemy’ carries on these influences, yet it stops abruptly before reaching any sort of satisfactory conclusion.
All in all, The Fallout, although having catchy chorus hooks and the occasional headbang-worthy breakdown, seems to be undecided in how it wants to be perceived within the scene it is breaking into.
