State Faults (formerly known as Brother Bear) are an American post-hardcore band formed in Santa Rosa, California in 2010.[1]Noisey included their album "Resonate/Desperate" as one of the records that best captures the last decade of hardcore punk.[2] In 2019, they were listed at number 16 on Kerrang's 50 Best American Hardcore Bands Right Now list.[3]
The band formed in 2010, under the name Brother Bear, releasing their debut EP, Head In the Clouds the next year.[4] However changed their name soon after due to the large number of bands who were also operating under that name.[5] On 8 May 2012, they released their debut album Desolate Peaks through Tiny Engine Records.[6] On 12 November 2013, they released their sophomore album Resonate/Desperate through No Sleep Records.[7]
In 2015, Kelley departed from the band, while Chris Hansen from No Sleep Records was pushing the band to put out a new record. This led to the three remaining members deciding to officially break-up and work on a separate musical project, which would turn out to be noise rock band Slow Bloom.[8]
In 2019, Andrew, Weldon and Wallace reformed State Faults due to increased interest by fans and began recording material.[8] Their first performance after reforming was at Santa Rosa's Chop Shop on 18 February, with support from Outlier, Sloth & Turtle and Pushing It.[9] Their third album Clairvoyant was released on 21 June 2019.[10] In December 2019, Brooklyn Vegan placed Resonate/Desperate at number 95 on their top 100 punk rock and emo albums of the 2010s.[11] In addition to this, Chris Luedtke of Metal Injection included the album as an "Honourable Mention" in his list of the greatest albums of 2019.[12]
Lyrically, their music generally focuses on spirituality,[1] makes use of references to the occult[26] and is heavily emotional.[21] A number of the tracks on their debut album were based on anxiety and its repercussions.[27] In an article for No Echo, Adam Yoe described their lyrics as "meditation on trauma and healing".[23]