Adur - We Fail to Love Ourselves

Adur – We Fail to Love Ourselves
Release Date: 29th August 2025
Label: Self Released
Bandcamp
Genre: Post-Metal, Doom, Sludge, Hardcore.
FFO: Botch, Deafheaven, Gaza, Norma Jean, Deftones, Converge, Mastodon.
Review By: Mark Young

We Fail to Love Ourselves is the debut release from Brighton’s Adur (not to be mistaken for the brass band of almost the same name) and it’s not a bad bit of stuff. I must admit that seeing the number of genres that they spanned gave me pause. Pre listen it was a case of how they would serve those different areas of music whilst delivering something that is cohesive, unique and ultimately satisfying to the listener. With band members drawn from a number of outfits, it’s probably no surprise that they can approach these disparate themes and then meld them into what is a very strong debut release. They blow through hardcore, doom, sludge and post-metal without any sense that the songs are anything less than authentic and completely representative of them and more importantly, you can hear those influences on them, refined to display what they need and then jettison the rest.

Arrival is the muted starting point, with Silhouette coming in hot on its heels. It’s compact, with a tight verse build twinned with extreme vocals that is replaced during the chorus with cleans and a rhythm to suit. Its sound shows where they can bridge those different themes, with a quality melody pattern, and for me, they could have come straight in with this and nothing would have been lost. I’m not doing Arrival down, other than it’s something I’ve heard so many times that it’s become almost expected now. If it adds meaning then I’m all for it, otherwise I think it’s a waste. I’ve mentioned previously that vocals will make or break music sometimes and, on this Adur, makes sure that it fits completely. It’s in parts crushing and haunting without losing a step. The title track dives into hardcore, with an abrasive and cutting attack and is immediate, running over you like a tank. You could be forgiven that this is a different band, except they don’t stay in that one lane. Pushing along, The One Percent is just a rabid beast and is a prime example of how they can shape themselves with effortless ease into any form they want and is for me my standout track on here. This is a very strong release from them, an album that takes from those influences and uses them wisely. Check out the closing minute odd from Permanence as it grinds to its conclusion, bleak as it is exhilarating. The last word goes to The End of Us, and it is a welcome one. Instead of going full on, it’s restrained as it starts, bedding you in and then bang – they ramp it up. One minute 40 is when you will lose your shit if you catch this live. They don’t leave it there; hooks are in you, and they are dragging you around via your skin. Live, this is going to be a killer, and it’s a quality end to a quality album. Full marks evade them, purely because of the intro track, which I appreciate is probably unfair. Putting my thoughts on that to one side, this is a cracker with songs that have been built for playing live. Even better, it’s another band giving the UK scene a kick in the arse.