Rating: NNNN
Like the Clash before them, Staines, UK, natives Hard-Fi have taken their frustration over living in a dead-end town – according to their website “a wasteland of Heathrow backwash and fake Burberry” – and filtered it into a hostile blend of ska, punk rock and classic Manchester dance. Most of the album’s content isn’t terribly different from that of other bands who grew up in shitty towns. When singer Richard Archer bitches about always being broke, he sounds royally pissed enough to carry Hard-Fi through several more records, yet he still manages to switch it up and sing delicately over vintage triphop beats and piano. These guys are passionate about what they’re doing. Perhaps one day they’ll channel their anger and disillusionment into something as perfectly crafted as London Calling.
Hard-Fi hit the Horseshoe Friday (January 20).
