New Jersey’s Hodera released “Trying” today – the third single from their upcoming album, Dear Friend. The band’s sound is somewhere at the intersection of The Gaslight Anthem and American Football, blending the folksy twang of Americana with the heartfelt confessions of emo.
Their latest track is a plea to reconsider suicidal thoughts and find reasons to keep pressing on. “If suicide is how I’m supposed to die, well, then I better get to living faster,” singer Matt Smith laments. “But I’m hoping I’ll get better.“
“This song is my truth about having a mental illness and planning for the future,” Smith says of the song. “Sometimes I have my mental illness under control. Other times I am close to suicide. Regardless of the current state of my mental health, there is always that looming thought that one day it might get so bad that I’ll end up taking my own life. It’s not a pretty thought, but it is something that I think needs to be talked about more.”
Dear Friend is ultimately an exploration of mental illness, addiction, and grief. And while songs like “Trying” are tackling upsetting thoughts and harsh realities, there’s also a lot of hope contained within the unrelenting honesty. Hodera not only walks the line between Americana and emo, but they also effortlessly exist within the paradoxical space of depressing and uplifting.
Dear Friend releases 2/24/2023 on streaming, vinyl, and cassette. Listen to “Trying” below.
Hodera is a four piece from Butler, New Jersey. The band has been around for nearly a decade, debuting with the 2014 EP, Reset to Default. Dear Friend is the first LP the group has released in nearly six years, and you can listen to their previously released singles “Waiting” and “Starlight” now.
You can follow Hodera over on Twitter and Instagram.