THE HARA have revealed their brand-new single Violence featuring As December Falls vocalist Bethany Hunter Jiménez. The single drops ahead of their October-November UK tour with As December Falls.
The single is the latest cut from their upcoming album, The Fallout, released on 23 January via Mascot Records.
Speaking about the electrifying collaboration between THE HARA and As December Falls, Josh shares how it all came together: “When we wrote Violence, we always had in mind that it would be incredible to have a strong female voice on the track to really bring out the two characters and the emotion of what the song is about and when we heard Beth (As December Falls) was interested, we knew it would be a perfect fit. Her high pop punk vocals take it to a whole new level and she absolutely killed it on both the song and the music video.”
This song explores the concept of a two-way toxic relationship, drawn from personal experience. “It’s a love story without a clear villain,” Josh explains. “It’s about two people desperately trying to make something work, even though it was never meant to last. The pain, the hurt, the manipulation—they’ve come to mistake all of it for love. And because of that, they can’t bring themselves to let go.”
You can hear Josh’s aching confession ring out on the song —“I don’t wanna leave when you’re all I’m fighting for”—which is met with Bethany’s biting response: “I thought you loved me, your perfect centerpiece. How could you say that you’d be better off without me?”
Violence follows their previous single, the live-wire Easier to Die, which is about losing hope in the pursuit of success and succumbing to negative thoughts. Heavy and personal entwine, and it’s this that creates the sheer electricity emanating from the band, making them a breathtaking spectacle to watch.
The Fallout allows the band to express themselves in a way that enables them to be supremely honest and open, whilst directing it towards a creative outlet. “Each song is a representation of the suffering I feel internally and how it manifests itself in different ways throughout my everyday life, relationships and as the frontman of THE HARA, having to deal with the chaotic ups and downs of band life that we already face. I’m still learning to find healthy ways to cope with my mental health, but sometimes in the moment, it’s easier to self-destruct, because even if the resulting effect is negative, it’s still better than facing the unknown ‘The Fallout’.”