Some people believe in love at first sight, some other say it’s total bulls**t and that you need to know the person first. Whatever it is, you will love this album, sooner or later. It has all the features of a classic: potently singalong tunes, highly emotional lyrics, spot on low-fi production, and there’s a really endearing underdog story behind this band. In other words, Hard-Fi deserve all the success they’re having, and even more to come. Songs like ‘Cash Machine’, the perfect ode to being broke, whose famously low-budget video was filmed at
Heathrow airport defying any security, or ‘Tied Up Too Tight’ are capable of making other people - even the ones who’ve never been there - understand all the rage and the pride of coming from a suburban town, all the problems, the real-life stories, the desperation, the loneliness. Finally ‘Hard To Beat’, one of the most romantic stories of love in a provincial town, is also a great dancing tune and is riding high in the charts right now. Hard-Fi are the people’s band, having been compared to The Clash, The Specials and The Street. Probably true, but listening to ‘Stars Of CCTV’ is such a pleasure and will make anyone understand there’s much more to them than the hype.
