They Fear Us: Track by Track with Ithaca

There’s no two ways about it; the latest record from Ithaca is the front runner for Album Of The Year.

The second record from the metalcore quintet, They Fear Us is far more than any genre tag could imply. Whereas their debut The Language Of Injury was an album bounded by pain and tragedy, this serves as the sound of the band who have taken time to consider and contemplate how they want to present themselves. Ultimately, the end result is something spellbinding. The full and breathtaking crystallisation of the qualities that make Ithaca such a dynamic entity, They Fear Us see’s the band dismantling the conventions of the genre to create something both incendiary and healing. Seething and blistering metalcore may be the foundation of this record, but built atop that are motifs of classic rock, R&B, power pop, soul and more within the intricacies.

However, what makes this record so captivating and therapeutic is how the band use these sounds to articulate their battles with trauma and adversity. They Fear Us is rich with a sense of triumph, one that stems from the fact that Ithaca have seemingly used the time taken to heal from their respective personal tragedies to craft an art-piece unified in it’s sonics, themes, aesthetic and message. It’s a mission statement, one emboldened by an invigorated sense of purpose whilst also being something that directly threatens to rupture a scene embedded in a place of privilege and misplaced pride.

With They Fear Us out today via Hassle Records, we spoke with drummer James Lewis to break down the album, track by track.

In The Way

“The start of the song was one of the first new riffs Sam (Chetan-Welsh, guitar) demoed to us after Language of Injury dropped, so we sat with this song for the longest time. The song’s identity to me seemed to fluctuate as we continued to write and work on other tracks. Sort of a font that not only stood as a remnant of the previous album but also siphoned bits from all the other new tracks we were working on. Djamila (Boden Azzouz, vocals) rocked up to practice one day and said she’d thought she’d finally cracked the lyrics and then dropped the ethereal singing over the beatdown. I just remember us all grinning wildly after a run through as it all just clicked.”

The Future Says Thank You

“Recording this one was a bit rough as it goes like a thunderbolt and does not let up. So a huge thank you to Lewis Johns (Producer) and the guys in the band being patient, supportive and for raising me up. This was another track that was birthed quite early on and to me felt like something we wanted to achieve on Language… but we didn’t have the technical nuances to pull off at the time. The call and response guitar came about by complete accident and the ending off-snare came from me placing the MIDI snare in the wrong place but got me vibing. Innovation through… incompetence? A friend of the band, Callum, also came down on the last recording day to add some keys which really is the cherry on the cake for this track- we wanted a specific John Carpenter/Goblin/giallo movie sound which I think he nailed. The lyrics are so powerful and stopped me in my tracks at work when we got the first passes in our inbox. The birthday cake line also really picked us up in the studio on a day where we were flagging. We didn’t know the full lyrics clearly at that point and we were just… Did Djamila just scream out the words birthday… cake?”

They Fear Us 

“We had a writing retreat and after a couple of days staring at laptop screens with drinks in hand we collectively lost the plot a bit. Sam played some strange tapping thing which we then digitally slowed down over a D-Beat in an attempt to make him laugh (successful). I had been writing hooky drum beats and was sending them over to Sam now and again. He picked up on the one that appears in the chorus of the song. Then it comes back with the tappy bit reimagined and with some simple yet powerful drum parts and it just blew us all away. Using the song as our comeback single to kick start the album campaign was an obvious choice for us all. It just sounded so big and exciting in the studio and hit the themes of the album perfectly. I also thought Djamila got locked in with her voice on this one quite early on which only helped embolden the lyrical decisions that came later. Just going from strength to strength throughout the album with a barbed wire 2×4.”

Camera Eats First

“The opening drumbeat of this song is something I use to warm up my feet before practice! Thought it could maybe work as a song! Sam came back with the crushing riff and just set it off by expanding the drums and adding some fantastic shreddy guitar parts. During recording the guys added explosion noises whilst I wasn’t there and I think it’s one of the best bits! There’s an odd peace that comes with letting your band mates play around with what you have put down and sort of creatively relinquishing things over to someone else you trust. This was one of the tracks Djamila laid down fairly early on and the guys in the band were just gob smacked at her vocals and the viciousness as it all came together. “

Related: Ithaca – They Fear Us | Album Review

Cremation Party

“We had a second writing retreat that I felt at the time had been slightly unsuccessful and a bit of a slog as we were mainly tidying up the album. We took a walk on the beach and decided to just try and write something that was chaotic and furious with parts that just slammed into each other. Dom (Moss, bass) played the seed of the opening riff which set things in motion and we wrote the bulk of the song there and then. This one felt a bit vintage Ithaca to me, complete with Will (Sweet, guitar) having to oversee and sort out the mess I had made on the DAW with cutting bits together over odd time sections. Ok, that was on all of the songs! This one was also toyed with whilst I was away from recording a bit. Tales of the guys whacking an old music stand and steel water bottle to get the perfect ping, love it! Lewis’ approach of being as much as a producer as an engineer was key here- not just for the samples but also he massively helped with making this more of a ‘song’ than just a riff soup. 

Number Five

“Sam had been stewing on the riffs on this one for a while and we made the call to actually get them into a track. I think it may have been the last song to be written. We had a bit of a Eureka moment with the bridge section as it gets kind of spooky and brings back the creepyness from the start of the track- it’s a bit of a Kittie homage. This one is actually super fun to play on drums and is a bit signature for what I like to do. Another track elevated by Djamila’s amazing vocals which she just dropped on us like it was no big deal!”

Flourescent

“One of the tracks that I think we set out with a clear goal or sound in mind whereas others may start out with us not knowing the direction or final vibe. I feel very proud of this track as a band. A culmination of instrumental and songwriting talent, as well as some of Lewis Johns’ finest post-production work. We agonised over the end for hours before deciding it was best to not actually change anything which I think is like the opposite of the sunk cost fallacy! It sounds bizarre but to me leaving something alone is a very difficult thing to do! The lyrics are so incredibly powerful and Djamila again just showing her fantastic range.”

You Should Have Gone Back

“This started off life in between lockdowns. We were joking about 70s rock, stadium drums and Michael Bolton. For me I was listening to a lot of hair metal at the time to get back in love with playing my instrument. My mental state during the pandemic had left me not wanting to even look at a drum kit. I think there was just a good band energy as we had finally managed to all get together after so long apart. There was a real mind meld going on as we all started to loosen up and really sink into songwriting and look to the future. We had sort of left normalcy during lockdowns so why would our music not also leave the realm of normalcy for us? Sam once again shocked us by noodling out the solo. This is a track that Sam put a lot of himself and time into along with the last song on the album and is testament to his ability to craft the bigger picture. The guitar solo part was conceived about halfway through the album writing process and I think was one of the catalysts for opening up to different sounds and being happy to play with new ideas. Also major credit to Lewis for the horn arrangement at the end, which was recorded live in the studio by some of Sam’s friends.”

Hold, Be Held

“I think Sam was worried he’d have to sell this one hard to us but I remember we got a demo from him and our reply was pretty much do this but do more and make it longer. This is his baby and is such a fantastic end to They Fear Us. We had to have some tough chats on this one to make some changes after it had been laid down in the studio. I feel that needed to happen as we all wanted to get this song just right. As we have matured and grown as a band and as friends we’ve been able to have those kinds of deep discussions where you are asking to be heard or for changes to be made. ‘Hold, Be Held’ is so special to me as it is not only a beautiful song but it also encapsulates a lot of what goes on behind the scenes. The unseen moments of not only hard work but also intense cooperation between five distinctive creative minds. The result is an album that is boldly us and we are so proud of what we have achieved.”