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Stars of Cctv
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Performer Notes
England's Hard-Fi are yet another in a long line of early-2000s bands inflated to heroic proportions by the U.K. press. Like Franz Ferdinand, the Kaiser Chiefs, and the Arctic Monkeys before them, Hard-Fi's sound is steeped in angular guitars, hook-heavy melodies, and push-and-pull dance rhythms. But while it's tempting to dismiss the band as the mere product of hype, overlooking them would be a mistake.
Stylish, slinky, edgy, and given to anthemic choruses, the band drinks from the same post-punk wellspring as many of their contemporaries; in particular, it sounds like Hard-Fi listened to the Clash's COMBAT ROCK about fifty thousand times. But that's not a bad thing, and these lads synthesize their influences in an intriguing way, offering up loping punk-boogie ("Cash Machine"), swirling disco ("Hard to Beat"), and
emotive balladry ("Move On Now") with aplomb. In short, the band's debut, STARS OF CCTV--its overhyped nature notwithstanding--is full of pop delights.
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (p.64) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Their Clash-inspired punk funk bites music ideas from the Special and the Happy Mondays, but singer Richard Archer gets his songs from street life, dead-end jobs, run-ins with the law."
