Music Review: Hard-Fi - Stars of CCTV

In the world of crap R&B and repetitive Hip Hop albums I am glad that there are people still churning out great guitar based music. And one of them are Hard-Fi.

The only reason this band got my attention I admit is the West London connection. Anyone who ever been around West London will know where Hard-Fi gain their inspiration for their debut LP - Stars of CCTV. Council flats. Dirty rubbish. Chavs. Oh, and the Mercury Prize award nomination too.

Described as an indie rock album, Stars of CCTV blends Britpop with hip dance along music. Hard to Beat is essentially the gem of the album, a dance anthem with a guitar twist. This is the most 'pop' track on Stars of CCTV, a pure antithesis to the rest of the album. Indie rock aficionado might dismiss this track, but I genuinely love it.

That is the only 'pop' I tell you. Capturing the culture of the youth skater scene of Britain tracks like Cash Machine describes the tale of Britain's poverty/unwanted pregnancy.

I try to phone a friend
My credit's in the red
I try to skip the fare
Ticket inspector's there
No no, this can't be right
I live an honest life
It seems like sometimes
You don't cross the line
You don't get
By...
No...

Then there are other wonderful tracks too. Middle Eastern Holiday describes twenty something Britains who joins the army to Iraq while some remains home getting on with their mundane lifestyle of getting drunk. Taking cue from post punk movement and 1980s ska, there are residuals of The Clash in their music. Not a bad thing really - I am pretty happy with it.