Hard-Fi - Stars Of CCTV

Sat 3rd Sep, 2005 in Music Reviews

It’s a dire sign for any artist when upon listening to their debut album for the first time you find it increasingly difficult to venture past the first song. Hard-Fi needn’t be too concerned though as I was so impressed by the first track Cash Machine, the repeat button on my player received an extensive workout.  

Even after listening to the album several times, it’s difficult to qualify Hard-Fi’s sound. At best it’s described as a melodic melange of stylistic pop and third wave punk with a smattering of dub and ska. There is a strong sense of ‘80s punk rock about them but the album is a swift and welcome departure from the diet of derivative uber rock that we’ve been fed of late. 

Rather than imitate the sound of that era, which can too easily degenerate into caricature, they have deftly experimented with disparate music genres and fused punk with disco and ska to establish their own distinctive sound. That’s not to say that they don’t have their own influences, which they fervently wear on their sleeves. The Clash and The Specials, who were behind the ska revival in the late ‘70s and ‘80s, maintain a pervasive presence throughout the album.   

Cash Machine with its infectious bass line and bleak lyrics is perhaps the standout track on the album. The Clash influence is most prominent in this song and the lead singer’s vocal delivery is almost strummer-esque. Hard To Beat, Middle Eastern Holiday and Gotta Reason are hard, ballsy punk songs which are infused with a melodic pop sound. It sounds like a dubious combination but the pop influence mellows the edginess that would make the songs fall into anonymity by being just another punk song. Living For The Weekend features the ever present thumping bass and angular guitar. 

The heart-rending falsetto and slow, hypnotic beats of Move On temper the harder, faster songs on the album and proves to be one of the better tracks. What at first appears to be a poignant break up torch song with the almost mournful plea of, ‘baby, it’s time to move on’ turns out to be rather misleading. Instead, lead singer Richard Archer maligns the city he lives in due to it’s lack of nightclubs and impels his lover to move with him elsewhere. 

There’s an ever present grittiness throughout the album largely due to Archer’s candid lyrics.  Born and raised in Staines (the haunt of Ali G), Archer echoes the feeling of despair and futility of those entrenched in the desolation of lower class suburbia, replete with the obligatory disenfranchised and embittered youth, and this resonates into his lyrics. Cash Machine begins with it’s diatribe about being broke, only to have this compounded by an unwanted pregnancy, Feltham Is Singing Out is about a friend incarcerated in a young offender’s institution and Middle Eastern Holiday is an elegy to a friend killed in military action in the Middle East. It feeds into the music through the warm tones of the bass and fuzzy guitar but it no point does it come across as too oppressive or makes you feel like you’re watching an episode of Eastenders. 

It’s perhaps not an album for diehard punk fans who may be slightly disappointed but perfect for those who are incessantly searching for something new. There is no better feeling than discovering a band before they verge onto mainstream success and it’s always best to get in there before it comes knocking on their door. However, you get the feeling that no matter what happens, things in this camp will always remain the same and as long as Staines maintains its zero club count the poignant torch songs are here to stay.