Fresh from laying waste to rock's hallowed tradition of the record cover with their sleeveless new album, a kind of long-playing 'vest' if you will, Hard-Fi turn their attentions to the thorny issue of global politics with latest single 'Suburban Knights': "Global terror they say, we are at war / But I ain't got time for that cos, these bills keep dropping through my door". Oh really lads, you shouldn't have.
This might win an award for stating the bleeding obvious, but Hard-Fi are potentially the most inane band the world has ever seen. Fighting shy even of The Enemy's hackneyed portrayals of working class desperation, the Staines massive (or should that be massive staines?) offer listless portrayals of lower-middle class life in shit satellite towns, a bit like The Office without the laughs, and seemingly without fire except a mild impatience at receiving their next paycheque. When they sing about being broke, it's nothing that couldn't be cured by taking a few packed lunches into work.
And so in the most begrudging of fashions we come to the music, which happens to be rather effective, and certainly a stronger comeback than those of us praying for their speedy downfall might have wished for. A belligerent slice of Specials-via-Kasabian guitar pop, polished to an '80s stadium rock sheen, it can’t disguise the simple fact that as a lyricist Richard Archer is about as thought provoking as an evening spent down a leisure complex somewhere off the M3: “All these people who criticise us / We're only saying what we're seeing with our own eyes”. If passive reflection, with nary an iota of wit or insight was all they set out to achieve, then congratulations lads, you’ve achieved it, with bells on.
the cover is so shit
what the fuck is wrong with this band.
never heard the song though, doubt i ever will.
Oh yes you will
The TV, Radio and every bloody club you'll ever have the misfortune to go to in the new month or so will be playing it because it's shit, and they are a shit band.
The artwork concept isn't clever or funny. It could have been but the actuall typeface they ahve used is fucking shit.
the only minor plus point i can find
in some ways is the production - they've somehow managed to make archer sound like a reasonably capable vocalist - which as anyone who's heard a live recording of them will attest, is fairly incredible.
other than that, its utter dog shit.
what gets me
is that first full stop. it's comopletely superfluous.
completely
meh
I was.
Thinking that.
Maybe
its meant to be a comma. But they couldn't afford the grammatical education. Or Something.
Grammar?
Those cats are too busy being broke and just trying to keep their street worn paws above water - it's a jungle out there!
If you think a comma
would fit in there you are sadly retarded, it would be a sentence with out any extra punctuation. The fact that they have stuck in a full stop implies it was done to give a slightly different meaning. Work it out.
Are you one of those who just got D at GCSE English? You and your friend TinPan could work on your own grammar. I can only hope it was some attempt at humour sticking a superfluous fullstop in the middle of his sentence.
Actually
I got an A1 in Higher Level Leaving Cert English. The highest award one can receive in secordary level education.
I don't think a comma would fit in there, but was merely attempting to make an excuse for a band that I have nothing but contempt for.
But I don't really care what you think cos I've read your other posts and you're a tossers.
And tossers opionions dont count.
Several errors in that cos I lost interest at the end
...
Standards are slipping...
I graduated from Harvard College, Yale, I aced every semester and I got an A. Need I say more?
How did you do so well with such a short attention span?
Anyway Hitler, tossers opinions can count, whether somebody masterbates or not is certainly no grounds to invalidate their opinion.
I gave no opinion in my original post.
Finally, I just re-read my previous posts and I think I come out in quite good light.
surely the problem is that they ARE saying what they see with their own eyes
and they need glasses
'...Hard-Fi are potentially the most inane band the world has ever seen.'
Sure it's obvious, but it's necessary to restate these things.
For some reason, this band really makes my blood boil. And don't get me started on the whole 'working class heroes' tagline that seems to get uttered everytime they appear in the press.
Bollocks.
i remember
when people reviewing records occasionally expressed love and joy at what they heard, now it seems they are jealous and bitter - and occasionally complete 'cnuts'. hard-fi? theyre decent for a british band, as they at least try to show some ambition, and i enjoyed their last record.
By "ambition",
do you mean Richard Archer's increasingly embarassing efforts to sound like Robbie Williams?
More lyrics from this song
"suicide bombers and soldiers on the west bank/mine's a stella and a pack of crisps, thanks"
'Avin it.
Thats actualy quite a good lyric
no it isn't
it's like a fucking joke.
best lyric.
ever.
yet more
Reducing labyrinth issues to the black and the white/To keep the lyrics comprehensible and the rhymescheme tight
L
MAO
Oh my
Shakespeare and tennyson spring to mind
Well good song.
O O O.
AH AH AH.
A A A.
Hilarious. I really can't see how people can tar the musical expertise of Kasabian in with these chimps.
Perhaps it's because
Kasabian are also lumpen, backwards-looking, cloth-eared, anthems-for-dim, shite-merchants of the highest order?
The front man makes me...
Fuckin cringe...check out the video for this song...really over obvious attempt at 'I'm a star look at me being the star, gosh aren't we rock n roll!'
Absolute rubbish band and song loosely held together by stadium 'woooahss'
Listen lads, naf off quietly eh!!
why couldn't they
just get a cheap black and white photo instead?
oh god, that cover's terrible.
The sad thing is, some people are going to actually think "Wow, that's such a statement. They're well deep"
Another comment about the cover...
The thing is, a whole lot off effort has gone into that artwork. I’m not a fan of this, but careful consideration has gone into a modern choice of typeface, tracking between letters and even this golden yellow colour they have here. If they really wanted demonstrate where they are going with this, a small white Helvetica font would have done the trick just as well, but no. The whole thing is just contradictory.
the irony is
their new press shots are REALLY glossy
maybe that's..
.. the point.
WOW
That's such a statement! They're so deep!
damn
I didn't even get that right, I meant "well" deep.
I've just wasted a perfectly reasonable joke. sorry everyone.
Oh my god!
They are well deep aren’t they?!, *downloads everything Hard-Fi have ever done...*
Quote: a_ghost_is_bored
"theyre decent for a british band"
Lolz..rofl..etc etc.
Are you aware of any other British bands. Like, ANY?
maybe
'expensive black and white photo of band' and 'not available' are the b-sides?
but in a fit of irony, they've put the name of the a-side in smaller type face. they just got, like proper well deep.
x
Raoul_Duke
Im not sure what you mean, how many bands exactly do i need to know to pass muster with you - give me a number you goon.
British Bands
Well lets name 5 british bands for starters and see if you can successfully argue for Hard-Fi to be considered as a decent British Band....I'm going to stick mainstream....here goes.....
#1. The Beatles
#2. The Rolling Stones
ohh, this is a bit hard, cos Hard Fi are that good, and I am worried you might win this arguement...
#3. err Radiohead
#4. Led Zepplin
#5. The Sex Pistols
Go on a_ghost_is_bored, convince me and the rest of the DiS discussion board that Hard-Fi are a good British band...over to you
british
decent = not the same as good.
interesting that someone named alistaircampbell would stick to the 5 most predictable bands one could name, only one of which remains both active and relevant, hence the paucity of current bands [since 25 years back]. i could name ten decent us bands without even troubling my cd collection, but not so many british. who, at present, is pushing things forward in the uk? certainly, lacking any real artistry, hard-fi make driving, questing pop with some real bite. i stick to my position, but would gladly investigate any bands you can recommend.
blame my parents
for the name.
predictable list was based on your defence of HardFi. good british artists current and active right now that I'm enjoying - Aphex twin, autehcre, mogwai, boards of canada, chris clark, james holden, four tet, richie hawtin, electrelane, nathan fake, two lone swordsmen, Arctic monkeys.
the yanks maybe rocking the indie scene right now but Britain is still producing very talented musicians. Hard Fi I personally don't count as one of them. Nor do I think they'll last further than their 3rd album
re: a_ghost_is_bored's description of hard-fi
driving? no. Questng? no. Bite? no. Pop? yes! Everything about this song is bland, to the generic electro intro, that will appear innovative to idiots, to the cliched football terrace "whooaahhs" and the production removes any "bite" this song might have had
well
well i havent heard the new single as i listen to radio 5 or bbc 6 but i thought this of the debut album. as for AC's list of bands, im a fan of some, not heard of others - its difficult to find good uk press for 'low unit shifters' so a lot of it is word of mouth i guess. i might need to get back onto last.fm.
delarge - its all a matter of opinion, and hard-fi are one of only a handful of uk bands getting big airplay in the last year or two who didnt immediately come across as posturing arses, a sad state of affairs.
if this record was a person
it would be a cunt.
and
asking you for spare change
more genuine lyrics from this song
"I question our country's foreign policy/and Wetherspoons no hoodies policy"
i love hard fi...
if only for teh fact they piss you lot off....a talent in itself...
No it isnt
trust me...
its is
seriously
i can pour a bag of shit over someones head without really creatively exerting myself.
it's been said before,
but that cover, whilst no doubt evincing a titter in the offices of NME, is the most inadvisedly smug, trite and pathetic cover I have ever seen, on any 'art' form.
"I question our country's foreign policy/and Wetherspoons no hoodies policy"
no!!!! you cannot rhyme a word with the same word!!! even if it is a word you're well proud of understanding, like "policy"
Not true
You're allowed to rhyme the word 'baby' as many times as you like.
no
you're making them up.
those lyrics arent in the song
they're made up.
"When they sing about being broke...."
"....it's nothing that couldn't be cured by taking a few packed lunches into work."
This is brilliant. And true. It made me laugh, so thank you!
Agreed
Nail on the head
so in summary
we all hate Hard Fi and its because they are pretentious and bad, Richard Archer is a knob and the lyrics are cringeworthy at best.
hard to beat was good tho.
What??????????
There's a bit
in this song that sounds just like another bit in a song by 90s band Space. It might be 'Me and You Against the World Now'...
Hard to Beat is ace!
"Hey guys lets put no artwork on the album, thats a good gimmick"
Shame The Beatles did it 40 years ago eh lads.
fookin' hell
you lot are boring. *cringe*
Richard Archer ain't Wordsworth
Of this we can be sure.
But musically, I really like this band. Almost everything they've released so far has been catchy as fuck and I'm a sucker for a good tune. This song is no exception.