Hard to beat (Hard-Fi) (LP 2700 - 2703)

Hard-Fi  Stars Of CCTV (CD, Atlantic Records, 2005) *****  

Hard-Fi  One Upon A Time In The West (CD, Atlantic Records, 2007) **** 

Hard-Fi  Killer Sounds (CD, Atlantic Records, 2011) ***  

Hard-Fi  In Operation (CD/DVD, Atlantic Records, 2006) ****  

Genre: Pop/ alt-rock 

Places I remember: Fives (Leigh-on-sea); Fopp (Covent Garden); HMV (Oxford St.); JB Hi-Fi (Killer Sounds)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Cash Machine

Gear costume: Suburban Knights

Active compensatory factors: I have raved about Hard-Fi before on this blog, but they haven't appeared as separate entries in the catalogue countdown to date.

I love their sound - rocky, reggae-y, dubby, alt-poppy, and football crowdy. Begs to be played loud too!

Debut album - Stars Of CCTV was huge in the UK when we lived in Leigh-on-sea. Hard To Beat, Cash Machine, and Living For The Weekend were all hits and all over the radio at the time in England.

I bought my copy from Fives on The Broadway and immediately loved it. It's especially tough to pick something off the first two albums to feature above but I've gone for one each off those first two albums.

The second album, Once Upon A Time In The West, is a more settled mature sound after the youthful rush of CCTV. It went to #1 in the UK, and again there were three stellar songs released as singles: Suburban Knights; Can't Get Along (Without You); and I Shall Overcome.

It's not as cataclysmic an album as Stars Of CCTV but still a top effort with top songwriting from Richard Archer.

Richard Archer is the band's talented main man: lead vocals, principal songwriter, guitar. But Hard-Fi is definitely a band. One that still exists, too. After a lengthy hiatus they are set to release new material and tour later this year (2024). Good luck to them!

Killer Sounds was their last fully fledged album and while it has its moments, it's a mellower sound. Maybe more mature again, but pales next to Stars Of CCTV.

Finally, the In Operation package has a DVD of a live concert (Hellszapoppaly great) and a CD containing dub versions of the CCTV songs. It's excellent too!!

Where do they all belong? It will be great to hear what they come up with later in the year.