HARD-FI

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).

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. The results were a DIY masterpiece: a thoroughly innovative, post-Millennial urban horrorscape. Stars Of CCTV is chock full of quality, brimming with chunky, angst-ridden pop/rock classics in the making.

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. They are something entirely new, merging disco, punk and dub until they sound like the late seventies having a fight with itself.

The UK top 10 track 'HARD TO BEAT' is an infectious blast of soul/funk that marks the sound of the band and one of the most romantic stories of love in a provincial town. The vocals are cool and quite sexy and the guitar strings are funky and the drums are perfect.

Drawing on their own experiences of the tedium and social alienation of living in a town like Staines, keenly observed songs such as 'Feltham Is Singing Out' and the album's title tune all use a suburban backdrop to add weight to some pop epics. Tied Up Too Tight is a corker, the plaintive vocals of frontman Richard Archer laid over what could be termed a modern Mod classic.

They're honest, they have integrity and they're not prepared to turn their back on the things which set them on the road to fame. Stars of CCTV deserves to make Hard-Fi the focus of some very widespread attention - it is an excellent debut album.

Estimated despatch 5-10 days after ordering.