PREMIERE: Meet Alera in Their Vibrant Debut ‘Failure; An Anecdote for Expectations’

Over the past few weeks, some of us have been hunted down by The Covenant to help spread the word on their secret missions. If you were incredibly confused about what was going on and were thinking, “is this about a new Bring Me the Horizon song?”, we kinda helped you out a little and gave you a leg up with this step-by-step process.

Assuming you followed the steps correctly, you would have then been initiated and accepted as a member of their secret society. The clues sneakily led to a teaser of Melbourne alternative/rock act Alera’s upcoming new single, and now we have the song in full for you today!

Inspired by the catchy 2000s emo/post-hardcore sounds of Saosin and Escape the Fate, ‘Failure; An Anecdote for Expectations’ is quite the intriguing blend of post-hardcore rock that sends you down a whirlwind of emotion. Driven by the punchy riffs and soaring singalong chorus by vocalist Matt Ashley (ex-To Octavia), ‘Failure’ is sure to steal a big chunk of your love for emo in 2021.

Honestly, it is quite the stunning debut from an upcoming Australian band. I love it and I reckon you will too. So we just had to catch up with Alera first to get the lowdown on how they came to be, what they’ve been cooking up and how, despite the first single’s name, they’re determined to fly in the face of all our expectations…

G’day guys! It is an absolute pleasure to finally meet you. Tell us who you are and how you all came together?

Hayden: Everything started about six years ago in the bungalow out back at my parents house. Back then it was just Mark from the current lineup but somehow Matt managed to convince me he could play bass.

Matt: At this point I was painfully aware I had no musical talent and had not yet learnt to scream properly. Knowing I wanted to be a part of this project, I proceeded to gaslight Hayden into letting me play bass. 

Hayden: Hahaha, yeah, then eventually he convinced the guys that we needed to have two vocalists. Fast forward a few years and what was essentially a group of mates jamming became something a little more serious. The real catalyst to getting this music out into the world was when I showed Corey the songs (We were in a band called Subside at the time) and he was super keen to get involved.

Matt: Then came Tony. After sleeping on his couch in Sydney a couple of times while on tour with To Octavia, it became apparent I needed to bring him to Melbourne. What better excuse is there than to join a band? 

Tony: Eight months ago, I was living in South West Sydney and had never touched a Bass.

Hayden: But really everything about this band, including the name, started in my parents backyard six years ago.

Well, the secret is officially out! You’ve taken us on quite the adventure already with your debut single ‘Failure’. But honestly, this end result was well worth what we’re hearing. Has bringing this concept come to life over the past month exceeded all your expectations? 

Hayden: Everything we’ve been able to achieve with The Covenant has definitely exceeded expectations. We can’t reveal too much from behind the veil but I can assure you that this is only the beginning.

It’s a stretch from anything Bring Me the Horizon, that’s for sure. Did those connections people made take you by surprise and did any BMTH members happen to come across your posts?

Tony: Hahaha, nah. The connections that people made completely caught us by surprise and it honestly caused us a bit of worry. We’ve come around to it and really appreciate all of the interest that has been shown in the project thus far. We hope that any fans of BMTH that did stumble across us can find some substance and catharsis in our music. 

Matt: If anyone in Bring Me sees this though, we dare you to share the song – you wouldn’t do it hahaha

Back to the track though. The song sounds very 2000s emo/post-hardcore. Where did the inspiration for ‘Failure; An Anecdote for Expectations’ come from?

Hayden: It’s always been a goal of mine to bring back that early 2000s sound. Even from the very inception of the band I was referencing Alexisonfire, Underoath and A Day to Remember as key influences in songwriting.

Mark: Big inspirations for me were bands like Alesana, Escape the Fate and I will also admit that I was once a fan of Hollywood Undead. Nowadays, it’s so sick to see bands like If I Die First and Static Dress that are bringing back that nostalgic 00’s sound with a modern edge.

Hayden: Yeah, we’re all big sweaters of those two bands in particular.

What message do you hope that listeners will learn from your music?

Matt: I have personally always drawn a strong connection with the lyrical content of all the music I have listened to. My hope is that people will draw similar inspiration from Alera’s lyrics as they are deeply personal on my behalf. 

Hayden: This song is all about not holding yourself to other peoples standards. The title ‘Failure; an Anecdote for Expectations’ is a sentiment I’ve carried with me all of my life and only in my early adult years I’ve realised I don’t need to let my value be dictated by other people’s expectations. The closing lyrics “I don’t need to know” is literally me telling the world I don’t need to hear it; I know who and what I am now.

One thing I would like to know is how you’re going to keep The Covenant’s secrets a mystery as you continue to grow and release more music?

Hayden: Honestly that’s pretty much out of our hands. For the most part, everything is out there to be discovered at https://thecovenant.online and we even have a private discord server for the diligent few who can pass the trials set out by The Covenant. For anyone that really wants to be ahead of the curve with what we have cooking, that’s the place to be – if you can get there!

Will your live show announcements be just as discreet? Remember when MySpace hosted “secret shows”? 

Hayden: We actually did have a ‘secret’ show planned in the kitchen of my old house. The original plan was to have Corey & Mark on the island bench, Tony on the dining table and Matt and Myself standing on the floor. We ended up moving things to the living room but then lockdown #4 shut it down. Maybe it was a good thing. 

Corey: It would have been so sick. 

Matt: But for real, we’ve already announced our first show which is on August 28th supporting Alt., Rumours and our good mates in Days Like These at the Workers Club in Fitzroy. We’re stoked and can’t wait to announce more shows for everyone.

What’s next for Alera that’s on the horizon over the next few months?

Hayden: This single is only the beginning. We have more in store and trust me when I say that things are only going to get more hectic from here.

Matt: If anything we’ve put forward so far interests you at all your best bet is to check out https://thecovenant.online because everything starts there.

Finally, do you have one more cryptic message for us to solve?

Matt: Unfortunately we cannot speak on behalf of The Covenant, but I can assure you there’s more to this video than just a song. 

Tony: D_ _ Z   _ U _ _.

Hayden: Hahaha, yeah that’s all we have for now, but before we go we’d just like to ask that if you like the single and you’re reading this the day it comes out, please presave the song at https://thecovenant.online/presave. It helps us out more than you know! Thanks for checking us out and thank you Tam & Wall of Sound for the interview!

It’s been a pleasure guys! Stay safe, and we’ll have our ears tuned in for single #2!

Interview by Tamara May @citylightstam

Follow Alera on social media: Facebook | Instagram

Pre-save Alera’s new single ‘Failure; An Anecdote for Expectations’ here