Future Scars Before, There Was Fear EP

When mathy rock quartet As In We went on hiatus, all kinds of Santa Feans—including yours truly—were basically like, “Aw, shit!” Then there was Future Scars, and with Haven Willis focused on black metal, three out of four members ain’t bad. Of course, the knee-jerk reaction from most—including yours truly—was something like, “What’s the damn difference?” Turns out, though, that we were wrong … mostly. Eliza Lutz, Gunnar Lyons and Ben Durfee’s similarly complex, though altogether more focused, project hearkens back to that As In We sound just enough to remain familiar, yet they’re just a tad more risky. Or should I say they’re forging enough new ground as to prove they’re not in it to present the same old tricks?

This is the question at the heart of Before, There Was Fear, Future Scars’ debut EP out on Lutz’ own imprint, Matron Records, next week. Fear represents a healthy dose of what we’ve heard from these local musicians before, but it’s really just the tip of the iceberg for the band and adheres well to that old axiom about keeping them wanting more. Which isn’t to say the EP is lacking. At five songs, Future Scars still provides us more than plenty of full-lengths do, plus it’s jam-packed with explosive and catchy post-punk ballads comprised of melodies that sound almost like what could have been if the mathy emo movement of the mid-to-late ’90s hadn’t gone by the wayside; this is evolution, for the band members and for the Santa Fe scene, and it is excellent. Think of Fear like a brief yet ever-ramping overview of everything Future Scars can do—which can be a lot given that Lutz, who is the main songwriter, likes to dream up her own guitar tunings and chords

1. Home is Here
2. Before, There Was Fear
3. A Reason to Stay
4. The Weight of What's Left
5. Good Death