We All Wear Black is like a mini The Black Parade, with songs that are a little less than A Little Less Sixteen Candles … but there’s more to these guys than just a My Chemical Romance or Fall Out Boy retread/genre mash-up. The Hara have a familiar Goth/Glam look and Pop/Punk approach but a voice of their own on this vibrant release.
Opening track Fool & The Thief sets out to jumble your emotions, hoping you’ll drop your guard, then grab you by the throat and get you jumping, one way or another. Oh, and have I said these guys can play? They can play.
The Hara offer a great sense of energy, a great sense of fun, although anyone who knows or has read about the band will have no doubt discerned a certain anger and frustration at the poisonous perils and pressures of social media – they tackle the subject head-on in the riff-tastic Die In The City (“Bet it feels good to destroy the kindness of a heart/ With a single blow … But no pity for the wicked/ We say GLORY GLORY to all that suffer.”). There’s a tangible desire to win acceptance for those who just happen to be “different” or refuse to be “irrelevant”.
Stand-out track Domino is swoony and anthemic, aching to be sung along to (you can get your chance on the April/May UK tour) – “Your beautiful face is all I know/ Take time and get to know/ Your own mind when you’re feeling low/ Stand tall/ Or you’ll fall/ You’ll fall like a domino.” Black Soul Ceremony boasts an irresistible, hooky guitar figure and nods again to Gerard Way & Co – “Welcome to the Black Soul Ceremony!” We All Wear Black is another mission statement anthem, another call to join The Hara’s own crack cadre of the resistance. Afterlife winds things up nicely with strings, massive drums, more huge geetar riffs and an R&B vibe – and why not?
Singer Josh Taylor, guitarist Zack Breen and drummer Jack Kennedy make up this Manchester trio. The producers are Jason Perry (McFly, Don Broco) and Andy Gannon. Taylor’s vocals strongly suggest he has the necessary grit and spirit to carry off this kind of rebellious stuff, with an own-accent heavy, take-me-as-I-am vibe (Sheffield’s cheeky Monkey Alex Turner, anyone?).
Negative ninnies will point to a certain lack of originality and there is undeniably a fair bit of good ol’ rock ’n’ roll recycling going on here. But these kids are alright, their hearts are in the right place – somewhere between their balls and their brain – and all reports emphatically agree they can rip it up live. So don’t be scared to join the resistance, join the ceremony, and wear your black with pride.
We All Wear Black, by The Hara, is out on April 1 via Scruff Of The Neck Records