‘Stars Of CCTV’ is the debut album from the Hard-Fi boys released on the 4th July 2005. It is an album about the suburban working-class youths of today with political and social lyrics similar to that of ‘The Jam’ and other politically-active bands. The band is comprised of Richard Archer, the lead singer, Ross Phillips lead guitar and backing vocals, Kai Stephens on bass and Steven Kemp on the drums. All of them are from Staines, in Middlesex. They are signed under the ‘Warner’ label in the UK and ‘Atlantic’ in the US.
This album features 11 tracks, five of which have gone on to become singles, all coming within the top20 in the UK Singles chart. The album itself has gone 2x platinum in the UK where it peaked at number 1 in Album Charts and once platinum in Ireland.
Cash Machine (3.42) This is the first album on the album and was the first single released by Hard-Fi. It reached #14 in the UK singles chart and #15 in the US modern rock charts after a re-release. The song is about a man in a dead-end job who is continuously ‘broke’. His “credits in the red” and tries to avoid paying for thing; “I tried to skip the fare/ticket inspector’s there”. His life gets worse as his girlfriend is pregnant; “my girlfriend’s test turned blue” and panics “I can’t afford to be a Dad/ so I leave tonight”. This song essentially displays the working-class struggle for money and the inability to get it.
Middle Eastern Holiday (3.44) This song features as part of a double A-side on the ‘Tied up To Tight’ single that reached #15 in the UK charts. The song documents the story of a young solider going to fight in Blair’s Iraqi War, ironically called a ‘holiday’. It describes the feelings of a young solider, “I’m 21, meanwhile
back at home/ My friends are out tonight all drinking and dancing”. This song is by far the most politically active of the album with lines like “Back at home, politicians sit/Over lunch discussing this/ In the desert the fuse is lit, I'm the one who has to deal with it” The attack on the people who sent the solider out there is damning, but the real moral of the song is the family of the soldier who eventually ends up dead, “I'm flying home, above everything/ I don't understand why is it my mothers crying”. With songs like this, it is easy to see why Hard Fi are said to be doing to ‘Blair’s 00’s’ what ‘The Special’s’ did to ‘Thatcher’s 80’s’.
Tied Up Too Tight (4.48) For me this is by far the best song on the album. With a ‘dub’ influence and speedy guitar it is a great tune as well as the uncompromising vocals. The song is about suburban life, Staines in the influence for this song, “take the Great West Road out”. The song is more about the thrills of the youth, and essentially working-class youth. With lines like “The cognoscenti don't like us”, cognoscenti being experts or connoisseurs it shows youthful or simple pleasures that many (most likely the West London snobs and upper classes) look down upon. The lyrics are not complex and the verses are repeated many times, but it certainly isn’t not repetitive song, with the catchy chanting of “na,na,na,na,na”, it is one to stick in your head and not get out
Gotta reason (2.49) This song is not a major part of the album and is only short compared to the others. It is a song about trying to ‘chat up’ a new girl in town “See the new girl in town/ Maybe I can show you round” and then the antics that are carried out “Yeah you look so good/ I want to eat you up like food” and the feelings of the bloke.
Hard To Beat (4.13) This is Hard-Fi’s most successful song to date. It peaked at #9 in the Uk charts and was released in the US. The tune to it featured in various different places, for a while it was Sky Sports background song and the remixed version of the song by Swedish house producer ‘Axwell’ was a huge summer tune in 2006. The song is about the relationship between two people, and their love for each other. The tune is very uplifting with a heavy bassline and drumming that dominates.
Unnecessary Trouble (3.44) Issues of violence and random fights are discussed in this song. It deals with people who try to provoke fights on people who are much stronger “you know you're always going to win”. It is a fairly unimportant song. There is a strong ‘dub’ influence and the tempo of the song is quite slow.
Move On Now (5.07) This song deals with the issues of boredom with life and location. The person wants to move away with his “baby”. There are references to Staines “See the planes take off from Heathrow” which is very near the airport, so it could be describing the boredom of suburbia. The plane offers a lifeline out of the boredom “Get on a plane it can't be wrong/ Moving on, Moving on”. The song itself uses a piano and often can be seen as a quite depressing song. It is sung slowly and often is monotonous.
Better Do Better (4.37) Like the previous, this song is slow but differs as it does not become tiresome. It was the fifth song released as a single and reached #14 in the UK so is joint 2nd with cash Machine in single ratings. It is a song about not taking back an ex-girlfriend. The term ‘Better do Better’ is used for the excuses used by the girl and also could be an order that if he takes the girl back that she must treat him better. He says that “I couldn't eat for days/I cried so much my face/has never been the same”. For me this is one of the best songs on the album.
Feltham Is Singing Out (4.36) Although never released as a single, this song is highly unrated. It is another socially charged song about the life of a girl. The use of Feltham could be for two reasons; one is that it is a town near Staines, but also because it is the site of London’s biggest Young Offenders Prisons which would relate to the song. It describes a girl who starts of wild and unruly but this eventually leads to her death. The song discusses many issues, the ‘narrator’ says that they “Try taking everything (drugs)/ But never hurt no-one and so what/You only live once - I thought/ 'Till I got caught”. But then the girl carries on and eventually she needs to steal for her habit and debts “You can't hold down a job/So then you had to rob…But as a criminal/ You're just no good at all/ You got your collar felt/ So dumb, you thought about skipping bail/ Now you're in jail”. Inside prison or young offenders the girl ends up hanging herself because of bullying and the lifestyle. The song finishes by blasting the prison by calling it a “living hell”.
Living For The Weekend (3.42) This penultimate track was the 4th song to be released as a single and reached #15 in the UK charts. The song is different than the others as it has a more electric sound, more like a house music beat. The song is predominately about the weekend of a young man who lives a dead-end life except for the weekend. His dreams are initially dashed “So my clothes are all counterfeit / So my name isn't on the list /'No you can't come in, so go home boys!” But then as the song becomes more uplifting, the lyrics also do as the person “Slips round the back look at that/There's a crack toilet window/Drop to the floor covers us through the door /I'm on fire” So his weekend is saved.
Stars of CCTV (3.58) This last track from which the album gets it’s name is about the role of CCTV cameras on the streets and how the youth see these are there cameras. The song is very mellow and does not have the loud or fast tune that the others song have. It is very acoustic and the ability to end on this song is a triumph to the boys.
The album offers intense (but not punky) alternative rock as well as incorporating influences like dub and house music. With such a great album, it as no wonder why their UK tour sold out in 15 minutes and why the next album, entitled Once Upon a Time in the West( which is set to be released on July, 2nd 2007) is set to be even better.
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May 22nd, 2007
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