Hard Girls: A Thousand Surfaces (Asian Man)
CD/ LP
Out now
Hard Girls are a new punk supergroup from the Asian Man stable. Ian Critchley reviews the wildest band that ever lived.
Supergroups are usually piss poor. Chickenfoot barely made a splash in the music pond and I personally don’t give a single fuck about the tough guy ethos of the band Down (I once asked the guitarist of the latter if he liked Morris Day And The Time and when I called him a prick for saying he “hated faggot shit” he walked away from the skinny emo kid that had just insulted his honour without another word). But Hard Girls, along with The Falcon, are the exception to the rule. Featuring members of both Pteradon and Shinobu, both having been part of the Asian Man family, the three piece is straight up punk rock without a single grain of arrogant pretension.
Musically the band feel like Jawbreaker on speed. It’s faster and far more furious than the inspirational New Yorkers, resulting in a sound that is a cross between The Honor System and The Copyrights.The real treat in terms of instrumentation comes in the form of the twiddly lead guitars that are littered throughout each and every song, adding an extra level that is both audibly pleasing and super fun to this tried and true punk rock.
The album does feel somewhat dated, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. The band clearly take a whole lot from the punk rock sounds of the late 90s. This record is a testament to those glory days and every element within it, from vocals to lyrics to production, reflect this huge influence and gives any one searching (myself included) for a musical fix they thought had long since fallen by the wayside not only a sense of nostalgia but a dose of hope that this style might trickle back into the conscious of the punk rock community and influence more upcoming bands.
What truly sets Hard Girls apart from the crowd is the energy of this record. Many punk bands are incredible live but when that is transferred to record a huge chunk of the gusto is lost on the studio floor. A Thousand Surfaces has so much impact and electricity that if you close your eyes while listening you can almost smell the sweat of the fat guy in The Descendents shirt waiting to wrap his damp chubby arm around you when the hook line kicks in. Or maybe the record has lost some of the live energy, I’ve never been to one their shows, and Hard Girls are the wildest fucking band that ever lived.
~
Hard Girls can be liked on Facebook.
All words by Ian Critchley. More writing by Ian on Louder Than War can be found at his author’s archive.
The post Hard Girls: A Thousand Surfaces – album review appeared first on Louder Than War.