Hard-Fi - Fire In The House

Hard-Fi have been turning heads recently, and for all the right reasons. Let's add another reason then, and that's that their new single Fire In The House - the second from third album Killer Sounds - is all kinds of fabulous.

Unlike the bold, striding swagger of the Jay-Z/Stone Roses aping Good For Nothing, this feels more subtle, more melancholic, but equally drenched in the sounds of the past. Half storming Brit-pop anthem, half moody synth epic dredged up from a shady nightclub, this is Hard-Fi doing what Hard-Fi do best.

Remember when Hard To Beat and Living For The Weekend came out, charming a nation with their perfect twinning of shouty indie credibility and big pop hooks. It felt so effortlessly spot on, so in the moment, so much like songs for the time - and Fire In The House feels the same.

Good For Nothing was aptly, rather good - great even. But this is on a whole other level - epic is a word that has been immeasurably cheapened over the last few years, but Fire In The House *is* undeniably epic.

The real test, of course, will be if the album can remain of a similar quality. Consistency, the great holy grail that so many aim for. Of the bands of Hard-Fi's generation, only a few remain, even fewer still delivering on the same scale. Kasabian have managed it, remaining eternally popular - and Fire In The House is exactly the kind of track that will ensure Hard-Fi stay up there with them in the premiere league of British rock acts.

Seeing the band perform at T4 On The Beach the other weekend, they felt like the band you always knew they had in them - not just Stars of CCTV, but real, genuine stars.

Fire In The House is released on the 14th August.

New releases round-up - 20th June 2011

Soundgirl - Don't Know Why

The first single proper from fesity new threesome Soundgirl, Don't Know Why is the kind of ingenious urban-tinted pop track that everyone wishes the Sugababes were still making. These girls are ones to keep an eye on.

Download

Parade - Perfume

One of the hottest new groups on the scene, Parade follow up debut Top 10 hit Louder with this deliciously catchy slice of R&B tinged pop.  A real summer anthem if ever there was them, Perfume feels wonderfully British, and with its chanty chorus vocals, it’s one holiday essential you definitely need to buy before jetting off on your holidays.

Download

Hard-Fi - Good For Nothing

Hard-Fi have been away for a while - but they sure announce their return with a bang on Good For Nothing. With it's Jay-Z inspired guitar riffs and rough, angled Stone Roses delivery, it's good old-fashioned Brit-rock - we like. A lot.

Download

Patrick Wolf - Lupercalia

Previous album The Bachelor was met with mixed reviews, but Wolf's latest effort sees a triumphant return to the pop sensibilities he showcased on The Magic Position. A new, refined, more comfortable sound sees the enigmatic musician at his very best.

Download

Hard-Fi - Good For Nothing

Hard-Fi, for me, will always represent those angsty teenage years we all go through. Tracks like Cash Machine and Living For The Weekend became anthems for the years of my youth, epic hymns to the hustle and bustle of life in the 21st century. All around them, landfill indie seemed to spring from every corner; but Hard-Fi stood tall and proud alongside a select few others - the premier league of new British rock bands with the quality to the match the hype.

After a lengthy period away following their famous 'NO COVER ART' album, 2011 sees them returning with Good For Nothing; a chunky slice of retro-tinged Brit rock. Full of swagger and charm, there's even a cheeky brass section bit halfway through. If you snipped out the choicest bits from the very best in 'lad-pop' and mixed them all together, then it would probably sound a fair bit like Good For Nothing.

A highly danceable Stone Roses-esque beat backs it all, indeed, it's bands like the Roses and Happy Monday that this track owes its greatest heritage. The guitar licks are rough and ready, laced with an edginess that sees the band embracing a looser sound than the tight, urban precision they excelled out on their debut back in 2005.

This represents an exciting new direction for Hard-Fi, but still packs all the consistency and vigour that made us such big fans of them in the first place. Hard-Fi are back and they're already soundtracking the summer with the fist-pumping tunery that is Good For Nothing. Love it.

Hard Fi - Good For Nothing by Hard Fi