Artists talk a lot about the notion of “needing” to get certain work out of their system, and it’s a truism that is as hackneyed as any other. However, sometimes it’s less that the work needs released as specific vessels work to get certain sounds out. Using the guitars of two friends (one of whom was lost, RIP), Commitment channels the sounds of those friends in ways both unexpected and joyous. Featuring an insane group of Philly talent (most notably Soul Glo and Eye Flys), the quartet play a kind of grind-adjacent style of hyper-efficient hardcore. Aside from the AmRep-esque title track, everything here follows the two-minutes or less rule. It takes a special kind of band to make a lyric like “I’m on your ass, bitch!” sound anything other than cathartic; you could even say it takes a certain type of commitment. Circling the drain of all that frustrates, inspires, and elicits fear, Fear Of is relentless and frank; the songs don’t overstay their welcome, but oh you bet they linger.
Tati Salazar shares how they got here:
“I have a lot of respect and appreciation for punk, hardcore and metal, but if I’m being completely honest, when the guys are throwing around band names and musical references during practices, I’m like ‘What? Who???’ My musical tastes are all over the place, and I only got into heavier music as a teenager and actively now. My personal approach to writing the vocal parts of this album was to get out as much pent-up anger in myself as possible. The causes and targets of my anger are as vast as my music taste. There’s a lot to be angry about in the world; there’s also a lot to be afraid of. I pulled a lot from anger and fear and did my best to structure my thoughts into (the band’s) incredible song ideas.”
“The way I feel about the world and humanity and our survival changes every day, throughout the day,” they add. “One second, I’m full of hope and a fighting spirit, the next I’m deeply nihilistic and apathetic. It really feels like a perpetual balancing act of being realistic and romantic about everything. And sometimes you drop it all and say you don’t give s fuck about anything anymore, but I think that’s the worst place to be in. I think it’s really cool and brave of anyone to want to stick around another day and contribute something to this really bizarre and scary world we find ourselves in together.”
Fear Of is out Friday and you can preorder it from Get Better Records. Follow Commitment on Instagram for future updates.
Photo courtesy of Commitment
