The Waterfront Studio, Norwich April 8, 2022
by Mark Harrop
The Hara frontman Josh Taylor doesn’t initially strike you as a suit-and-tie kind of guy. It’s something of a culture shock therefore when he vanishes from the Waterfront stage halfway through a belting set and returns in rather natty black office attire.
The Hara are full of surprises. These are no three-chord thrash artists, with Zack Breen on guitar and drummer Jack Kennedy forming a tight and precise unit behind Taylor’s theatrical and skilled vocals.
It’s full-on from the start. Black Soul Ceremony sets the tone in grand style demanding attention with its pounding chords. There’s more light and shade in Circus and Until It Happens before Die In The City and Domino show The Hara at their brutal and uncompromising best.
The suit and tie is donned for Fool And The Thief and the swashbuckling We All Wear Black, the title track from the band’s newly released EP.
Suit ditched, Taylor’s back to bare-chested, tattoo-laden rebel style as the set delves into The Hara archives. He smears on lipstick as Breen and Kennedy fire up the intro to Tramp Brain before the main set closes with FYI.
Friends and Animals provide the perfect crowd-pleasing encore with the energetic audience responding to Taylor’s infectious enthusiasm in bruising mosh-pit style.
It’s a breathless end to a pulsating show. The Hara hit you hard but there’s an ease and humour behind the grit which lightens the load enough to make this classy trio irresistible.
