Hard-Fi - Stars Of CCTV

20th June 2005
Back in October 2004, Hard-Fi pressed up 500 copies of their debut mini-album 'Stars Of CCTV', recorded in the band's beloved Cherry Lips studio, (a former 24 hour cab office on a bleak Staines industrial estate).

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Having now been snapped up by a major label, following a competitive scramble, the re-recording process for 'Stars Of CCTV' has remained exactly the same.

Despite a considerably more generous budget on offer this time around to boost the tracklisting to eleven tracks, the band insisted on returning to Cherry Lips, unwilling to turn their backs on the gritty surroundings from which their sound had seeped.

Co-produced by Richard Archer and long time cohort Wolsey White, the album, by default, is an emotive, eloquent celebration of modern day rut and romance, set against a sullen suburban backdrop.

While the infectious soulful funk of 'Hard To Beat' and the full throttled 'Living For The Weekend' celebrate the Friday night meat-market clubbing buzz, tipping a nod to Staines disco Cheekies and it's infamous 'VIP room', the sublime 'Tied Up Too Tight' gut-wrenchingly documents the urge to surpass smalltown expectations.

Both the disco-beat chants of 'Middle Eastern Holiday' and the brooding rock of 'Feltham Is Singing Out' are united in their concern for absent friends - either lost to Iraq bullets or the near-by Young Offender's Institute, while the epic split-up anthem 'Better Do Better' spits venom at a reproachful ex who's daring to ask for another chance.

Meanwhile, 'Cash Machine', Hard-Fi's first ever single, must be the first ever dub-hop glam classic on the perils of having negative bling. Other highlights include the infectious handclapping groove of 'Gotta Reason', with its killer bass heavy riffs and blistering vocal performance.