A Fear of Life may not be a phobia familiar to all, though Creative Adult’s traumatic past justifies their connection to their second LP’s title. The Bay Area band wrote and recorded their upcoming record over the course of 18 months that were rife with death, addiction, and tension for the members. Consequently, the band and its constituents underwent severe and uncomfortable change in the recording process, often opting not to speak to one another over several months in the studio.
“Heal” is a rare demonstration of recovery on the record, a moment when the sextet conquered their own and collective Fear of Life. Amidst unending despair, the track was born somewhat spontaneously: “‘Heal’ happened very organically,” guitarist Michael Bingham tells SPIN over email. “I think we’d just stumbled into the studio, plugged in our guitars, and [were] just noodling around during the second morning of tracking when we started playing something we knew was the Creative Adult vibe… Like any good piss it happened without thinking about it, and felt good.”
Despite its weighty punk elements, the song’s therapeutic nature becomes clear quickly. Built on one guitar riff, “Heal” is essentially five minutes of cyclical doom-pop, a drone-y meditation whose repetition grants room for both wallowing and solution. Deep-voiced frontman Scott Phillips guides this recuperative path with stone-cold sincerity, a promising black sheep for what’s likely to be a gloom-ridden album.
Fear of Life is out on Run For Cover Records on August 5. Check out “Heal” and tour dates below.
August 21 – Los Angeles, CA @ Non Plus Ultra
August 22 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge
August 24 – Denver, CO @ The Moon Room
August 25 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
August 27 – Seattle, WA @ The Black Lodge
August 29 – Portland, OR @ Black Water
August 30 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill (Record Release Show)
October 3 – Antwerp, Belgium @ Kavka Tue
October 4 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Winston
October 5 – Cologne, Germany @ Blueshell
October 6 – Berlin, Germany @ Cassiopaia
October 7 – Nurnburg, Germany @ Desi
October 8 – Vienna, Austria @ Bach
October 9 – Bologna, Italy @ Freakout Club
October 10 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Dynamo
October 11 – Wiesbaden, Germany @ Schlachthof.
October 12 – Paris, France @ Mecanique Ondulatoire
October 13 – Brighton, U.K. @ Green Door Store
October 14 – London, U.K. @ Moth Club
October 15 – Cardiff, U.K. @ Four Bars
October 16 – Glasgow, U.K. @ Nice and Sleazy
October 17 – Manchester, U.K. @ Star and Garter
October 18 – Leeds, U.K. @ Brudenell Social Club
October 19 – Norwich, U.K. @ Owl Santuary
October 20 – Nottingham, U.K. @ Basement
