Naturally,
NME
called
Hard-Fi
's debut album,
Stars of CCTV
, "the album of the year" upon its U.K. release in 2005. A year later, the Staines, England, foursome had a Mercury Music Prize nomination under its belt as well as two Brit Awards nods and a U.K. number one album. Those following the buzz on the other side of the Atlantic finally got their wish with the domestic release of
in mid-March. With the popularity of
Franz Ferdinand
,
Kasabian
, and
the Kaiser Chiefs
simmering down around this time,
stepped into the American
pop
conscience when they were supposed to. While their spark and spunk are near matches of those aforementioned acts,
delivers more of an angst kind of performance. Frontman
Richard Archer
is fueled by
Tony Blair
's England. After all, these are four friends from a southwest London town. They sound like a garage band while delving into the monotony of everyday suburban life, referring to their small town upbringing. Thus a raw kind of work ethic gradually emerges on
. Their formula of snappy choruses and tight guitar hooks, particularly on
"Middle Eastern Holiday"
and
"Gotta Reason,"
captures
's youthful presentation.
Archer
's boyish vocals switch off between gritty and playful. If
"Living for the Weekend"
does not convince you of
's anxious effort in getting you to ease up on the ho-hum of working for a living, the fresh
disco
beats of
"Hard to Beat"
surely will.
's desire to create something solid enjoyable in the midst of everyday monotony is what makes
an enjoyable first effort. Whether they are singing about having little money, unexpected pregnancy (
"Cash Machine"
), or a war-torn world (
"Feltham's Singing Out"
),
looks for something positive.
offers a reason to look for something positive, too. ~ MacKenzie Wilson