Commitment – “Fear Of”

If you Google the phrase "commitment fear of," you will probably have to scroll down a very long way before you encounter the Philadelphia hardcore punk band Commitment or their upcoming debut album Fear Of. Maybe that's on purpose. Maybe the entire enterprise flies in the very face of search engine optimization. Nevertheless, Stereogum is here to let you know that Commitment have just shared the title track from Fear Of. This is service journalism. You're welcome.

Commitment should be on your radar. The band's force-of-nature frontwoman Tati Salazar makes indie-pop under the name Le Siren, and this is her first time making aggressive music. It's not the first time making aggressive music for the rest of the band, which includes Soul Glo frontman Pierce Jordan on drums and Jake Smith of Eye Flys and Backslider on guitar. We've already posted their absolutely feral tracks "Hellraiser," "Dog Pound," and "STD," and Fear Of album drops on Friday.

The song "Fear Of" closes out the album of the same name. It's nearly three minutes long, which means it's epic by this band's standards. The tempo switches up constantly from rabid blood-range sprint to guttural chug, but the intensity never flags. Here's what Salazar says about the song:

"Fear Of" is the second of two songs our drummer, Pierce Jordan of Soul Glo, wrote for our album. It’s the song I had the hardest time writing, most likely because I was appalled and intimidated by the whopping 2:55 minute duration, as opposed to our usual 1:30 minute songs. But it became the song that ties the whole album together. And so it only felt right to make it the title track of our upcoming debut album. 

Way before the album would be done, I knew I wanted to call it Fear Of, with our band name serving as a completion to the thought. I felt I hadn’t really dug into the feeling of shying away from real connection out of this sense of self preservation. As I tapped into that feeling, this song began to take shape. 

It’s a song about uncertainty, about weighing the pros and cons of the vulnerability that love requires. Disappointment and heartbreak are always a risk when letting yourself love someone. But as I watch people become more and more detached, from ourselves and each other, I feel very strongly about choosing to push through that discomfort and difficulty if it means that you’ll have known love in your life.

Below, check out "Fear Of," as well as the dates for Commitment's upcoming tour with the HIRS Collective.

TOUR DATES:
3/30 - Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
3/31 - Minneapolis, MN @ New World
4/01 - Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium
4/03 - Boise, ID @ The Shredder
4/04 - Tacoma, WA @ Skiff Fest
4/06 - Sacramento, CA @ The Scarlet Room (Harlows)
4/07 - Berkeley, CA @ Gilman St
4/09 - Fresno, CA @ Tower Theatre Lounge
4/10 - Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge
4/11 - San Diego, CA @ The Print Shop
4/12 - Mesa, AZ @ Rosetta Room
4/14 - Austin, TX @ 29th Street Ballroom
4/15 - Denton, TX @ Rubbergloves
4/16 - Oklahoma City, OK @ Resonant Head
4/17 - Houston, TX @ Alexrad
4/18 - New Orleans, LA @ Fred Hampton Freestore
4/19 - Atlanta, GA @ Eyedrum
4/20 - Nashville, TN @ DRK MTTR
4/21 - Asheville, NC @ Static Age
4/22 - Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar

Fear Of is out 4/3 on Get Better.