In the 1980s the North was all the rage, inspiring amongst others The Smiths, Human League and The Specials. Then there was the ‘trip-hop’ bubble around Bristol, and more recently, London’s given us cheeky ‘Park Life’-loving country-dwellers Blur and the urban-poetry of Dizzee Rascal.

Hard-Fi are very much in the mould of another ‘voice of The Streets’ (bad pun), Mike Skinner. Coming themselves from the same Staines neighbourhood as Ali G, theirs is a life surrounded by chavs, disenfranchised youth and weekends of mindless drinking and violence. The odd local reference apart (‘Feltham is Singing Out’), their full-length debut, Stars Of CCTV (also the title of an earlier mini-album/demo), chronicles life in the faceless council estates up and down the country. ‘Living For The Weekend’ epitomises the release from the weekly drudgery of work, while the title track describes the brief feeling of attention, breaking from anonymity to star in a CCTV ‘movie’.

An interesting blend of influences, Hard-Fi are certainly more ‘indie friendly’ than the likes of Skinner or Dizzee, having already supported The Kaiser Chiefs and The Bravery. Like The Ordinary Boys or The Dead 60s they’re a guitar band who mind the 80s ska/new wave scene for influences, but they blend it with dub overtones, which perhaps account for a summer scheduled in Ibiza too.

As a soundtrack to ASBO-life, this album no doubt captures the mood of the moment. Musically, however, it’s a bit more hit and miss. When it’s good – as on the up-tempo, dancey ‘Cash Machine’ and ‘Middle Eastern Holiday’, and the slower ballad-like title track – it’s good. Occasionally the repeated themes get a bit boring, and one or two fillers are almost as bland and soulless as the housing estates that inspired them. For the most part, however, Hard-Fi encapsulate the spirit of the time, much as say Oasis and Pulp did the ’90s. Whatever future critics make of its blend of styles, it’ll seem like a judgement on a slice of the past.

(4/5)

Release Date: 04 July 2005

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