Hard-Fi - Once Upon A Time In The West

Back in 2005 a little band from Staines, UK released one of the catchiest albums of the year called Stars of CCTV. That band was Hard-Fi and they aren't so little anymore. Stars of CCTV sold over a million copies and went to #1 in the UK. In the next two years the band played two huge shows opening for Green Day at Milton Keynes Bowl, they played five sold out shows at the Brixton Academy (they are one of only a few bands to do so) and were nominated for two Brit Awards. But wait, there's more! Hard-Fi was also nominated for the coveted Mercury Music Prize. They lost to Antony and the Johnsons but hey, there can only be one winner.

Anyways, the band is back and are getting ready to put out their sophomore album, Once Upon A Time In The West on September 3, 2007 and September 18th in North America. Their first single, 'Suburban Knights', has been on UK radio for a while now and it shouldn't disappoint any Hard-Fi fan. It's catchy, about suburban life (hence the title) and pretty much sticks to their formula. However, I just recently listened to the entire album and I have to say Hard-Fi has really grown as a band. It's a lot darker than their previous stuff and definitely more mature.

At the moment you can listen to the new album in its entirety on the band's MySpace page. However, you should hurry as the preview is expected to last for only 24 hours.

Hard-Fi UK Tour Dates
31/08/07 Portsmouth@ Southsea Pier
01/09/07 Birmingham@ Irish Centre
03/09/07 Glasgow@ ABC
06/09/07 London@ Hippodrome
07/09/07 Coventry@ Coliseum
08/09/07 Bristol@ Trinity
09/09/07 Cardiff@ Cardiff University
10/09/07 Worthing@ Pavillion

Download (mp3): Suburban Knights
MySpace: Hard-Fi
Hard-Fi: Official Webpage

Pre-Order Once Upon A Time In The West