The Hara, Die In The City
Scruff of the Neck

The Hara are barrelling through this year like a bullet train, and latest single Die In The City embodies all the momentum that’s built up – and continues to build. Summer was punctuated with appearances at Slam Dunk, Download Pilot, Reading and Leeds, as well as an utterly raucous headline tour just drawing to a close now; The Hara have been making a racket all over and making sure that everyone knows who they are (be it by stripping down or by literally breaking the stage with their unstoppable energy). Die In The City is the tune to introduce anyone who’s found The Hara recently to exactly what they’re about.

Packing The Hara’s usual arsenal of huge stomping guitars, earworm hooks delivered in frontman Josh Taylor’s cheeky snarl, and moments that couldn’t possibly lend themselves more to an audience belting them out football-chant style. Die In The City takes The Hara blueprint and executes it with panache – where the band are usually erring on the tongue-in-cheek side, injecting their tunes with charm through surreal lyrics and wild delivery, Die In The City feels a little more serious. From the ominous opening vocals, a dark murmur of “do you like the feeling that you get when you laugh in my face…” to the sheer, arena-sized storm of a chorus, Die In The City is the sound of The Hara gearing up to go places.

There’s no doubt that Die In The City is an avalanche of emotion, ripe for a trademark The Hara live show, but it feels like a turning point for the band on a deeper level than that. Lyrically reflecting on how they’ve arrived here and how they’ve dealt with it, The Hara turn to face whatever’s next with a riot behind them, Die In The City simultaneously exorcising the residual energy from their run of shows and turning it into yet more buzz.

Die In The City is out now.