Hard-Fi (NOT "Head-fi") is a free single on iTunes right now

[Jahn]

It's called "Cash Machine." Verdict? Like Hall and Oates decided to develop an edge. Not bad actually - but the sound quality is really rough.

 

[zoboomofo]

I like it. If Hall & Oates cut the mullets and vanilla soul, then started taking cues from the melancholy 80s post punk trend and became English, this is exactly what you'd get. I haven't really absorbed the rest of the album, but this has a nice chunky rhythm. The tune is good too. To paraphrase Ron Burgundy, this melody was remarkable, and memorable.

Upon further listening, it sounds like a more chesty voiced Brandon Flowers doing soccer anthems with a driving rhythm section.

 

[markl]

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...hlight=hard-fi

 

[Masonjar]

The "there's a hole in my pocket" part is funny cuz it's kind of lifted from the song you might have sung in grade school called "There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza"

The boys would sing the "Dear Liza" parts and the girls would sing the "Dear Henry" parts.

The song itself doesn't blow me away.

-jar

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markl http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...hlight=hard-fi

whaddya know, they're getting exposure! you can say you helped discover them

 

[b0rk]

I think these guys are really overrated

- nothing special, I listened to their album maybe twice and deleted it from my DAP.. even though I still had 10 gig free

 

[Kameleon]

I've been really into Stars Of CCTV for a while now, there's some great tracks on there and it's not all about their singles

Move On Now and the last three tracks are great.

 

[zoboomofo]

I've been listening to it on my commute. My approval is based on the sing-a-long-o-meter. So far it rates a tepid. I keep going back to The Who for some happy virtuoso music. When trendy music is stylized to be sparse and moody, it's hard to dive into it. It needs just the right setting to work for me.

 

[tennisets]

I haven't actually listened to any of this band's stuff yet, but here's a blurb about Hard-Fi's origins from the latest Stereophile eNewsletter. Note that the guitarist actually was a Hi-Fi salesman. The article also notes the reason for band's first album's poor sound quality:

Quote:

Hi-Fi Salesman Turns Rock Star! By Ken Kessler When I first heard the name of the hot, new band Hard-Fi, I hoped beyond hope that "Fi" had something—anything—to do with our beloved pursuit. Something told me that, surely, there had to have been a rocker somewhere with a background in audio. You know the pitch: "I'm only selling hi-fi/waiting tables/parking cars/serving burgers until my big break as a singer/actor/whatever." Could this be the one? Word is out that one member of Hard-Fi was, indeed, a hi-fi salesperson. Ross Phillips used to be a salesman for one of British hi-fi's better-known chain of stores, Sevenoaks Sound & Vision. As the story goes, a young man was going to the Sevenoaks in Staines to audition equipment. It turned out that he was actually attempting to hear his latest demo tracks on decent systems—a nice bit of lateral thinking. Said freeloader was budding musician Richard Archer. He and Phillips hit it off, and Phillips, a talented guitarist, joined Archer's then-fledgling band, Hard-Fi. Phillips retired from the noble art of selling hi-fi at the beginning of 2005. One year on, and Hard-Fi have opened for the Kaiser Chiefs and the Bravery, joining the current wave of slick indie Britrock acts exemplified by Franz Ferdinand, the Libertines, and other post-Oasis outfits who blessedly seem more concerned with music than with poncing about like petulant rock stars. Success has come swiftly: their debut album, Stars of CCTV (Necessary/Atlantic), went gold on its release in July. That album was recorded in a disused mini-cab office—we'll have to wait for Hard-Fi's second disc to learn if Phillips' ear for good sound will have any effect on the sonic quality of the band's studio work. In the meantime, Hard-Fi has undertaken a sellout touring schedule, playing in the US, Japan, France, and Ireland, as well as the UK. They're signed, too, for the NME Shockwave tour in February. Apparently, Ross Phillips still visits his former place of employment in Staines, to catch up on the latest in the world of audio. "Ross is a really nice chap and was a great salesman to boot," says store manager Phil Beeston. "There'll always be a job for him here if he ever wants it!"

 

[zChan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kameleon I've been really into Stars Of CCTV for a while now, there's some great tracks on there and it's not all about their singles Move On Now and the last three tracks are great.

I like this CD as well, at least once I got past the quality. I agree with Kameleon, I much prefer the second half of the CD.