Cheersquad Records & Tapes, 8 October 2021
Hard-Ons throw a “Fucked up Party” and we’re all invited.
Australia’s Hard-Ons are back, this time with a new vocalist. And though change is not always easy nor seamless, Tim Rogers (of You Am I) comes in and fits nicely. Throughout the fantastically titled I’m Sorry Sir, That Riff’s Been Taken, Hard-Ons weave in and out of styles and melodies, keeping everything heavy, hooky, and loaded with pep. On Riff, the band sounds like consummate pros, maybe as much as they ever have. But they do so without completely forgetting the obnoxious confidence and humor. That’s quite a trick.
Hard-Ons deliver their trademark sound, sometimes in bursts of punk pace and sometimes in pulverizing grunge-heavy sludge, but nearly always with hooks that land and pop and plant a flag in my brain. It all starts off with a great vocal melody that goes over the stomping opener “Hold Tight”, and those vocals go soaring on the chorus, becoming almost pretty, especially the “ooh” as the chorus closes. And I love the line “catch me like you catch a falling star”. “Lite as a Feather” plays with a similar sort of set up, with a chiming guitar digging deep into my brain while drums simply drive things along on the verses and then the chorus sort of goes soaring again as Rogers sings “you’ve got the weight of the whole world resting on your shoulders” before going to “you’re as a light as a feather, you’re as a light as a butterfly”. And when the coda comes along, it starts to feel like a fantastic nighttime-driving song. “Home Sweet Home” is also a Hard-Ons pop song, with some terrific hooks and singalong vocals to go along with cool backing vocals. This one even throws in handclaps, one of my favorite things. “Needles and Pins (sic)” is super poppy, too, with endearing vocal melodies and maybe my favorite Beach Boys backing vocals on the record (actually, check that, they sort of remind me of backing vocals on Frank Black’s “Headache”). It’s fantastic.
Other songs, like “The Laws of Gossip”, walk a finer line, doing some catchy thing with more guitar aggression, and so does the incessant “Shove It Down”. Elsewhere, “Frequencies” and “Humiliated/Humiliator” throw in some noisepunk elements. “Frequencies” works with a pulsing bass set to destroy while guitar shards shatter the mold and it kind of reminds me of Jesus Lizard while “Humiliated/Humiliator” burns with sinister guitars and possessed howls. And Hard-Ons don’t forget the goofy humor that’s always been around. “Back Pack Sweat” is a gross funny time that bounces around with all sorts of buzzsaw angst while “Fucked up Party” is one of my favorites on Riff, playing with tons of energy and catchiness and it ends up being maybe the song that bounces around my head most frequently when the record’s not on. And Rogers’ vocal take on this one is really good. On first listen, it was almost disarming to me and I was sort of unsure of it. But the confidence and vocal hooks won me over and I’ve come to love the take. Simply, there’s just a lot to like here.
Riff is a rambunctious and restless set, with swerves and curves to keep me on edge. But the hooks and confidence are positively infectious, making for singalong moments and an all-around good time. Enjoy the party.
Favorite song: “Fucked Up Party”
Favorite moment: the nighttime-drive feel of the end of “Lite as a Feather”
Favorite whatever else: the destructo-noise romp “Frequencies”
ryan is a reviewer and news editor for TGEFM. He’s very secretive, he might be an alien.
