Jacked Existence: CLASH Meets The Hard Quartet
A supergroup is a place where ideas, knowledge and experience come together.
The release of a self-titled debut album has seen The Hard Quartet spread the word about their democratic outlet of musicians from celebrated areas of the folk, indie, punk and alternative rock circles.
The band played two live shows in the US prior to coming to the UK. Friends have been showing up, the crowds were not just friends though. Playing to each other is one thing, playing to an audience for the first time is a special moment, and things happen when people start to connect.
Comprising of four select musicians, the band include Pavement frontman Stephen Malkmus, Matt Sweeney of Chavez, Dirty Three’s Jim White, and Emmett Kelly, known for his work with The Cairo Gang.
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They meet CLASH in North London before their first ever gig on UK soil at Camden’s Electric Ballroom. A virtuous performance that sees the group thrive in the setting. Unwavering musicianship blended with a rawness, it’s the excitement that comes with being part of something vibrant in its early days.
A spirit of improvisation is present. The track record they have as musicians is brought to life, they have so much to offer, and the impression is validated in our conversation.
The songs are the result of a process of “just jamming”. Recorded across a couple of locations, in Brooklyn and Manhattan, “At a studio where we had a long history with the engineer,” says Malkmus. “A rehearsal in a studio almost. We didn’t go to the rehearsal room to bash things out and then go to the studio. We just picked it up right there.”
Sweeney nods. “I suggested that everybody bring in two or three things to throw at each other, it was to not have that pressure of having to be smart on the fly, and still allow enough room.”
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It definitely is a collaboration. Exploring the process of making the record, every member brings something unique, there’s no hierarchy, no appointed or self-appointed leader. If history has presented us with a number of supergroups, few seem as risk-taking, as ingenious, as this particular lot.
“You’ve gotta expect it’s an amalgam of people that know us from everything we did, hence the supergroup idea,” Malkmus considers. “When you’re expecting people to actually take time out of their lives to go and see something, and pay for it.”
As expected the debut is idiosyncratic. When asked about influences they insist that no specific musicians or records inspired it, even if The Velvet Underground, Peter Jeffries and David Bowie have an appeal that is universal.
The songs have identity. They are the end result, they surprise and make one think. Take a track such as ‘Earth Hater’. The guitar lick at the beginning, the sound of the drums, the snare and the chorus, everything comes together in a fulfilling way.
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Underpinning the self-governing values of the collective, the sound of a one note riff gets everyone playing along. Malkmus thinks it shows the swing each member decides to play it with. “A lot of things are following those notes, it then goes on to crude, different parts of the map.”
‘Action For Military Boys’ is a splendid reminder of the singer’s mastery of lyrics. Tongue in cheek, its playful mood is a measured anti-war reflection. He found himself worrying about how it might be seen, however, if its friskiness could be interpreted as insensitive.
A seasoned writer, the lyrics were not easy to get down on paper. He alludes to the density of words in the middle part of the song, which made the job harder. The idea of every listener paying attention to every word, and all listeners hearing exactly what’s said can be overwhelming, if not fill you with dread.
“You always use the last minute. You think it could be better, different in my mind. Sometimes, there’s some things like slam dunks, you’re checked off, but then there’s all this other area, like doubts with me sometimes, and I am always gonna try to fix it until the last minute.”
Sweeney was taking a different approach to the lyrics he wrote. “It was last minute for me, but I had an advantage. All the guys were busy, I did lock myself in a room to write some lyrics, and I got them done.”
Seeing the group’s enthusiasm for live music unfold is fascinating, they are exchanging thoughts on a gig they went to in London the day before. “The Shadow Ring are a different rock band,” Sweeney decides. “They are using guitars, voices, microphones and drums, they’re minimal, but they don’t sound like anything else. They hit in this way that’s really beautiful.”
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Seeing other musicians play is useful and inspiring. Malkmus often sees a band through an audience and participator perspective. “You want to pick people you play with. Sometimes you don’t pick when you’re in a young band, you’re just friends but it’s an audience, or people that I can play off, they will get what I’m doing. It becomes everybody’s, it becomes the audience.”
It resonates with Sweeney’s view of things. “The advantage of starting a band with people that you’re long-time friends with is that you know how they play, with you. It’s better than sometimes when you start, you maybe wonder what a person’s going to think about what I’m going to do, or what they’re going to do when I do it.”
The standard is high. For Malkmus it’s the “waiting for something to come then you can make justifications yourself, that’s it done, or someone tells you it’s good. That’s usually the best thing.”
He continues: “Everyone knows that you’re trying your best. If something’s totally cringe, you can maybe see or feel it. I don’t think you have to say it.”
“Experience tends to help to keep you choose your words a little more wisely, choose your tone better.”
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Then there’s self-doubt. It’s human, it comes and goes and every musician has been there. “What’s cool is when you’re getting ready to get pushed in the face,” says Sweeney. “But actually nobody cares, unless it’s good. When it’s good, they go ‘oh yeah’.”
They have come far in a short space of time, their recent live outing in Camden and release of the debut album prove it. Plus, they already have songs written for a future release, it’s excellent news.
The hope is that The Hard Quartet soon will become a favourite band in many countries. They deserve to be.
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Words: Susan Hansen
Photography: Rachel Lipsitz
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