• Fears: h_always

    Content note: Suicide & self harm.  Under the Fears moniker, Constance Keane hasn’t ever shied from making music that challenges pervasive feelings of anxiety, just as her previous outlet, the sonically-opposing M(h)aol, used primal, abrasive noise-punk as its own vehicle to address greater issues. And, as with anyone who holds complete autonomy over their creativity, it’s often assumed that it’s just one aspect of someone in tune with themselves. By her own admission, Constance has worked hard to accept, utilise, and channel that into a busy and fulfilling professional & artistic life. However, following a traumatic event in Autumn 2017, Constance fell into a suicidal state, and following several trips to A&E, she was admitted to a psychiatric…

  • 17 For ’17: Fears

    There’s something otherworldly about Constance Keane, and her solo project, Fears. The music here is remove from what Keane was making as the drummer of the feminist/animal welfare punk group M(h)aol, though keeping that distinctive dark tone. Her latest single Blood, a follow-up to 2015’s Priorities is a journey through alternative pop, with dark and looming synths and minimalist vocals, reminiscent of both BANKS and FKA Twigs. Produced and written by Constance, and mastered by Huntley Miller (Bon Iver, Tallest Man on Earth, The Staves) the track wouldn’t be unusual to hear on a John Carpenter soundtrack, or indeed in…

  • Death To Complacency: An Interview With Gross Net, Autumns and Fears

    Ahead of a three-way release launch in a secret location in Belfast this Friday night, Philip Quinn of Gross Net, Autumns’ Christian Donaghey & Fears’ Constance Keane discuss growth, release, community & “timid Irishness disease”. Go here for the show’s event page. Hi guys. You play a secret location show together in Belfast this weekend. It’s titled ‘A Death To Complacency’. What’s the significance of the title? Philip Quinn (Gross Net): There’s an element present here in society I dub “timid Irishness disease”, whereby people just don’t knuckle down and get making something. I see the three of us as…

  • Premiere: Fears – Blood

    Fears is the solo project of Constance Keane, drummer of Dublin feminist and animal welfare noise/post-punk quartet M(h)aol, and November 25 sees the release of new single ‘Blood’, following last year’s ‘Priorities‘, through her own label, Fears Records. In stark contrast to M(h)aol’s raw power, ‘Blood’ is an exercise in intense restraint and silently brooding alternative pop. Its brooding synth is evocative of the likes of John Carpenter (minus the timestamp), accompanied by claustrophobic, dissonant beats, with Constance’s lyrics and vocal performance lending the track the kind of somnambulist atmosphere to accompany a sleepless night. Ever the elusive entity, Fears’ first show takes place in Belfast on December 2 at a…