Track Premiere: Fear Not Ourselves Alone — “Mutual Aid”
Posted: by The Editor
It’s been amazing to see how Fear Not Ourselves Alone have been defining their signature voice over the past couple of years. The Alt premiered FNOA’s “Token” back in 2018, and “the last punk band from Queens, NY” has been a favorite NYC band of mine since I first saw them play at Friendship Quest Fest back in October of 2022. Since then, the band (vocalist / guitarist / bassist / keyboard player Jorge Ivan Velez, guitarist Jonathan Baron, and drummer Eric Dryburgh) have put out I FOUND (YOU) this past summer, which reimagines the band’s 2020 album You in the Heart of Everyone, and now they’re setting the stage for a new album: DEAD DOG PARADISE (OR LIFE LIKE PARASITES?) out on November 7.
Jorge Ivan Velez describes the album as an exploration of “the violence of our economic system, what it means to be a political person and how we can make the world better for the next generation.” We’re premiering the album’s closer, “Mutual Aid,” here on The Alternative. With lush piano chords, shout-along choruses and martial drumming, the song delves into the “vengeful apathy” of people who are cowed into total inertia by the apocalyptic prospects of this century: financial collapse, pandemics, climate change. “Mutual Aid” can serve as an earnest anthem for those looking to sustain some hope, but it also isn’t afraid to examine more ambiguous feelings about the future. It’s a beautiful and layered song with a vital point of view, and we’re psyched to share it with you.
Find Fear Not Ourselves Alone on Bandcamp here. They’re playing an album release show Friday, November 10th at Trans Pecos in Ridgewood, Queens — tickets for that are here.
Molly O’Brien | @missmollymary
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