OUR FEARS – Congers, NY
I’ve never written about these guys, nor have I ever even heard of these guys, but I will admit that I’ve been living under a rock as of late. I did, however, notice that they were playing at Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ on June 27 with Smile Empty Soul. The name of the band is Our Fearsand they are absolutely tasty. Singer Miles Strand has an incredible voice and actually reminds me of former Killswitch Engagesinger Howard Jones at times, especially when he gets aggressive vocally. Miles does some killer screams. The guitar work on some of these songs like “Cancer,” “Bellicose,” Tell the Truth,” and “Party Down!” are pretty amazing as well.
Our Fears is a hard-progressive rock band who hail from Congers, NY, up in Rockland County. They formed in 2014 when singer Miles Strand released the songs “I’ll Kill Myself” and “Air Bag” as individual singles under just his name following the demise of a previous musical project he was involved in. The response he received from people was great enough to motivate him to want to start a band again, and so he spread the word that he was looking for musicians to submit audition videos playing along to either one of the songs. Today, singer and guitarist Miles Strand is joined in Our Fears by bassist and singer Jonathan Duverger, guitarist Dan Russo, and drummer Tim Sorbs. This hard rocking quartet will be the first to admit that a band like Coheed and Cambria have been a strong influence on their sound, but to be honest, I don’t hear it at all! As I said earlier, I heard the Howard Jones version of Killswitch Engage or even Sevendust with some of the melodies that Miles Strand drops on these songs.
Our Fears deliver a brand of music that can only be described as epic, theatrical, visual, and hard-hitting. Since the band released their debut EP, Flawed, in 2014, featuring the songs “I’ll Kill Myself,” “Air Bag,” and “Beautiful Stranger,” they’ve been on a roll releasing music videos supporting singles from the EP, including their own rendition of Mariah Carey’s, “All I Want For Christmas is You.” On Halloween 2018, Our Fears released their highly-anticipated debut full-length album, Hopeful. Hopeless. with the first singles from that record, “Tell the Truth” and “Northern Lights” giving listeners a glimpse of what was to come from the release of the new record and made it clear that Our Fears had a place on the tri-state area music scene. Catch Our Fears live with Smile Empty Soul, Coldville, Dead Eyes, Answer Infinity and Circle of Grief at Dingbatz in Clifton on 6/27. For more info on Our Fears, visit Facebook.com/OurFears.
NORTH JERSEY NOTES UPDATES:
So, Out of Bounds guitarist, Dr. Dave Rosenfeld has officially unleashed his new project, Tonal Crush, with a rehearsal video on the Rock N Roll Union Podcast, where they performed a song called “Lost.” I have to admit that I was bit curious and gave it a viewing. Singer Tom Ragusa has some set of pipes on him. Homeboy can sing! I can’t wait to hear actual recordings of these new songs. Catch Tonal Crush live at The Brighton Bar opening for Dave Ellefson of Megadeth with Sekond Skyn, Common Wealth, Empire On Fire, Legion and Vendetta Rose. For more on Tonal Crush, visit Facebook.com/TonalCrush…. Great to see my brother, John Mosco and his band Sixty Miles Down back on the active list! Even if they don’t look like the 60MD I remember, it’s the same band with new songs and Anthony Coppola from Long Gone Day on drums. Anyway, the band’s been doing Facebook Lives at rehearsal and recently performed a new song called “The Grey.” From what I was able to hear on the live feed, this song is killer! In even better news, Sixty Miles Down will be performing on a stage for the first time in 11 years on August 31 at the Stanhope House in Stanhope, NJ, when they join the lineup opening for my bros in Killcode. Also performing will be Autoerotica, Etherius, Orbynot and Police Navidad. For more info on Sixty Miles Down, visit 60md.com…. And finally, my buds from Reality Suite will be celebrating the release of their new record Awaken with an album release show at Debonair Music Hall in Teaneck, NJ on June 28. Get over to Teaneck to hear the whole new record including the brand new single and music video, “Kiss The Ring,” which is available on YouTube. For more on Reality Suite and their album release show, visit RealitySuite.com.
That’s all for now! If your band is from North Jersey, and you want some exposure, send your press kits to Arts Weekly, c/o Tim Louie P.O. Box 1140, Little Falls, NJ 07424, or you can email me at tim@theaquarian.com, where you can also let me know where you’re performing next!
Just remember….We’re all in the same boat, so every little bit of exposure counts!
Tim Louie is the Author of S**t Happens.
