By Kyle Petersen
Although Fear Doesn’t Live Here is technically Columbia R&B singer/songwriter Katera’s debut album, she’s long been one of the most intriguing voices in our music scene. Many of the songs on this record have been available online and in her set list for years, so there’s a way in which this record feels like a culmination of sorts, the conclusive exclamation point on the gradually building recognition of Katera as one of the great artistic talents in our city.
A gospel-trained singer who taught herself guitar in order to burnish her performance and songwriting talents, Katera presents herself as a true student of both the pop-rock and R&B traditions, excelling at brisk, lithely constructed tunes. The lead-in intro “Hate Me Now” has her confidently riding a hook-filled, loping beat that builds gracefully into the sumptuous R&B groove of “Refund (I Don’t Love You),” a pocket-heavy performance which in turn is framed against the throbbing acoustic pop-rock strums and triumphant chorus of “DNA.”
That opening salvo establishes both the songwriting range and the polished studio techniques that Fear utilizes. As a guitarist and arranger, Katera leans towards punched-up versions of the warm tones of neo-soul and the casually athletic vocal multi-tracks of early 2000s contemporary R&B. It’s a potent blend, and one that could carry the record of a lesser songwriter, really.
But Katera excels as a songwriter first and foremost, with a distinct sense of character and charisma that, in addition to her technical skills, really fosters her album’s identity. Tracks like “Single” and “No Phone Calls” present a humbly confident twist on women’s empowerment anthems, toying with the romantic themes of the genre while offering a distinct perspective. This is perhaps most evident on “Rush,” the pulsating centerpiece of the record which gracefully pulls back against a breathless melody and giddy chord progression as Katera and featured rapper H3RO articulate the desire to slow down a relationship as a couple feels tempted to succumb to urgent longing.
There are lighter and more playful moments here too (“Superhero” and “In Love with the DJ”), but it is her distinctive spin on R&B romance that makes Katera’s first album such a triumph. Most debut records are usually about the promise of the artist, but this one is truly more a demonstration of a fully realized vision.