Faith To Fear will be releasing its debut EP on Friday, a banging and emotionally charged five-song record titled ‘Codependents Anonymous.’ Yet despite its Valentine’s Day drop, this is anything but a feel-good work of warm and fuzzy love songs.
When did I say you could choke me?
When did I say you could beat me?
You said you’re sorry, believe me.
Apologies can’t free me
—'Break Me Down’ (from Codependents Anonymous)
“The songs were written and started forming a pattern rather than us writing songs around an established direction,” said Skye Carlin-Rodriguez, Faith To Fear’s drummer, noting the band’s vocalist Jay Fier, “was working through a lot when these original songs got written. So, they all ended up forming a cohesive narrative on their own.”
“It’s honestly nostalgic for me when listening” added Jay, “because it’s a snapshot of my emotional experience of the summer of 23.”
Without a doubt, the subject matter on this record is heavy: from toxic and abusive relationships to emotional and mental captivity to sexual assault. But the success of this record is that Faith To Fear, based in Rochester, never allows the EP to get bogged down in the gravity of it all. The songs on this release rip at a furious pace.
“There's a lot of despair and sadness here, but there's defiance too, especially in the outros of ‘Detox’ and ‘Break Me Down,’” said Skye. “And on the song ‘Roadkill Jack,’ there's a reclaiming of agency and defiance that we end on. I hope that people can find their own parallels to the story and dig their way out of their own holes — with or without a best friend/murderous accomplice.”
His heart in your hand and it’s still beating
Blood on my shirt, but I’m not bleeding
That’s what he gets for fucking cheating
If you treated her right you’d still be breathing
—'Roadkill Jack’ (from Codependents Anonymous)
“When I say ride or die, I mean it,” said Jay.
Faith To Fear — a name that initially started as a joke given that Jay’s last name is pronounced ‘Fear’ but was later solidified after bandmembers realized they shared some of the same religious trauma — draws on a smorgasbord of musical influences.
There are remnants of late 90’s and early 2000’s bands like Arctic Monkeys, The Strokes, and Foo Fighters, whose songs Skye and Faith To Fear guitarist Mason Wahlers played together for years. Skye said they also take a lot of “songwriting cues” from bands like the Damned, the Replacements, and the Thermals, while bassist Calvin Samuelson draws from classic metal and genres like doom, psych and stoner rock. Jay, meanwhile, said with a laugh, “I am a musical theater/pop music girlie and now I’m in a punk band. A lot my influence comes from P!nk. She is such a talented singer I grew up listening to. She still has an edge to her though which is where I get my defiance-vibe from.”
And though perhaps unintentional, there is a noticeable (and pleasing) Sleater Kinney-Bratmobile-Excuse 17 feel to the band’s songs — fast, snarling and unapologetic. “I've taken to describing us as ‘Hayley Williams fronting The Hives,’ said Skye.
Prominent too on ‘Codependents Anonymous’ is Jay’s courage in being completely willing to lay their soul bare.
In describing the song ‘Leash’, for instance, Jay said, “I developed an unhealthy codependence (to my ex) to the point that I wouldn’t be able to eat until he came home… I was ‘leashed’ to him physically, mentally and emotionally. He also constantly called me his ‘obligation’ so I added that in as a message to him. Basically confirming that the song is about how I felt in the relationship.”
Meanwhile, they explained ‘Detox’ is a song about the process of breaking up, with lyrics that include:
Pull the needle out from my arm
Fill my flask with love and charm
Sweet burn as you go down
You’re the sweetest drug around
“I was going back and forth between missing (my ex) and hating him every other day,” Jay said. “I ended up attending a group called Codependents Anonymous (CoDA). It is literally like NA or AA for addiction to a person and their validation. After a few months of this and better meds, I finally got to a point where I realized he wasn’t what I needed to be worthy.”
And then there’s the harrowing song ‘Break Me Down.’
“I’d like to make it clear this song is not about my ex,” said Jay. “In December of 2023, I was SA’d through coercion. My friend texted me at 2 am because he had just been broken up with and needed someone to talk to. I was sober but by the time it was 6am I was too tired to go home so I gave into his advances. He then choked and beat me during sex. The verse of this song was what I was screaming in my head for weeks after. Luckily, my band is super supportive and helped me make it into the song it is.”
Though hailing from Rochester, Faith To Fear has been successful in establishing a small foothold in Buffalo, appearing on local podcasts, forging relationships with bands in the city and landing a show Feb. 22 at Nietzsche’s which the group will then follow up with a gig at Hot Mama’s Cantina in March.
“Honestly, Skye is so involved in the music scene in Rochester so I’m not surprised they spread to Buffalo,” said Jay. “This is Skye’s true passion and they put their whole heart into it. I’d love to say it's my social media marketing, but it really is (Skye’s) Golden Retriever energy.”
“I find that musicians are a very insular bunch, and a lot of us feel like we're operating in a vacuum, so I make it a point to break that vacuum and tell people what they're doing is cool if I like it,” Skye said. “It's amazing how one genuine compliment can brighten someone's day, and I find it's really easy to make friends in new places by finding someone doing cool shit and telling them as much. A great example is how quickly I've found new bands and friends in Buffalo. I started listening to ‘716: The Sound’ because Stress Dolls did an episode, and I found what (host) Chris (Chavez) was doing super interesting. I reached out to him, and we got along super well, and from there I found a ton of other really cool folks to pay attention to” in Buffalo.
Faith to Fear will be marking the release of ‘Codependents Anonymous’ with a show Saturday at Psychic Garden in Rochester. DM the band for the venue’s address. Doors at 7 p.m.
“This EP is our first outing as a band, and my first official outing as a producer/recording engineer,” said Skye. “There was a lot of work that went into making these songs what they are, and a lot of learning through the process of it. I couldn't be prouder of how we came together as a unit to put this out, from recording, to artwork, to getting videos recorded to support the release.”
“It's very much a feeling of like ‘Oh my god this is actually happening,’” added Jay. “This has been something we’ve talked about doing since July 2023. What's really crazy is it's the same 5 songs we started with!”
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