The city of Staines has been described as a 'cultural wasteland' by their most renowned offsprings, British Indie sensation HARD-FI. Richard Archer (vocals), Ross Philips (guitar), Kai Stephens (bass) and Steve Kemp (drums) gathered their forces in early 2002 to put an end to this less than satisfying legacy.
Mixing up odds and sods from DEXYS MIDNIGHT RUNNERS laddish soul and THE CLASH s Punk-Reggae party, the band met with mouth-to-mouth critical and popular acceptance in late 2004, when their album Stars of the CCTV become a cult relic, with all 500 copies soldout. 2005 was twice as busy, with 6 singles released (all UK hits). 2006 saw the re-release of Stars of the CCTV (UK number 1), as well as the Cash Machine single reaching 21 on US Modern Radio listing. Mercury Prize and Brit Award nominations just added to their winning streak.
Tied Up Too Tight was their second UK single, released in 18th April 2005 (featuring Middle Eastern Holiday on the flipside). All the melodic grandeur missed in much of their contemporaries comes to full fruition in the title track, as if COLDPLAY could be once in a lifetime a great, organic, meaningful band. This is the grandiosity of a band unafraid to unleash their feelings upon the world and the feedback is something akin to BRITISH SEA POWER, with guts. That s much more to inexorability than OASIS. If you prefer, if a younger, bolder PULP s released their The Queen Is Dead, it would sound sometimes like HARD-FI. Even this said, the track unveils some terrific grit. Compulsive listenable. Archer is never overbearing and Philips displays all his versatility. Unmistakeably British. This is the next THE KINKS, bar none.
Middle Eastern Holiday is a Funk-Hard-Reggae-Rock stomp in the best early 1990s tradition. Effective backing vocals, lead BLUR-inflected vocals, bold and malevolent guitars, prominent bass and all the craft KASABIAN would die for. That s to say, another winner.
So? Go find/download this marvel right now! Or go straight to Stars of the CCTV for full immersion! See ya.
Tracklist:
(* * * * *) Tied Up Too Tight
(* * * * 1/2) Middle Eastern Holiday
