New Video: Cowards Share Bruising “Fear of Fear”

Italian noise rock/shoegaze/post-punk trio Cowards — currently founding members Luca Piccinni (vocals, guitar) and Guilia Tanoni (vocals, bass) and the band’s newest member Michele Prosperi (drums) — formed back in 2019 and quickly established a sound deeply rooted in 1990s aesthetics featuring a blend of abrasive, feedback and noise-driven guitar textures and elements of dream pop and grunge.

Following the tragic and untimely death of their previous drummer Pepe Carella in 2021, the band found renewed momentum with the addition of Michele Prosperi. The band released their full-length debut, last year’s God Hates Cowards through Bloody Sound. They supposed the album with extensive touring of the Italian club scene, as well as a run of the Italian festival circuit.

Building upon a steadily growing profile, the Italian trio will be releasing their sophomore album Can You Hear Me through Bloody Sound on Friday, June, 19, 2026. Can You Hear Me? reportedly sees the Italian trio further cementing a sound rooted in noise, post-punk and shoegaze while being more nuanced and texturally layered. While still featuring the abrasive guitars they’re known for, there are more atmospheric passages, a more forceful and driving rhythm section and it’s all underpinned by urgent, unflinching vocals.

Whereas God Hates Cowards thematically was intensely introspective, Can You Hear Me? sees the band turning their gaze outward. Personal unrest and unease is merged with a much wider narrative, in which individual emotional collapse reflects a broader systemic breakdown.

Can You Hear Me?‘s first single “Fear of Fear” is a bruising and bombastic, 90s alt rock-meets-METZ mosh pit friendly ripper that thematically channels John Cale’s “Fear is a Man’s Best Friend.” “Fear feeds on itself, limiting and controlling us — yet it can be faced and dismantled,” the band explains.

The animated video for “Fear of Fear” channels Edvard Munch’s The Scream while capturing paralyzing fear — of the thing just around the corner; that will relentlessly chase you down and so on.

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