Upon making their first public announcement last August, The Hard Quartet joined a noble lineage of so-called supergroups, one that can probably be traced back to the mid-50s and the Million Dollar Quartet (Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash), and then through the decades with Cream, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, The Highwaymen, and The Travelling Wilburys, right up to more recent examples such as Them Crooked Vultures and The New Basement Tapes whose members are already successful as solo artists or as part of other groups .
I am sure that The Hard Quartet would have no desire to be categorised as such – they do seem to be a remarkably self-effacing bunch of chaps – but let’s face it their four members have already had some pretty impressive careers in music. For the record The Hard Quartet are Stephen Malkmus (Pavement), Jim White (Dirty Three), Matt Sweeney (Chavez, Superwolf, Guitar Moves) and Emmett Kelly (Ty Segall, Cairo Gang), to name but a few of their previous/ongoing achievements.
The Hard Quartet released their eponymous debut album last October and since then have played quite a few live dates in the United States, Europe, and now in the UK where tonight’s show is the first of what will be four here in this country. Matt Sweeney later tells us “It has taken 40 million gigs to get here (to Leeds).” He could well have been exaggerating with the figure but there is no doubting they have been busy out on the road. And it is soon abundantly clear that by being so they have also honed a brilliant live performance.
A strong affinity between the four men becomes quickly apparent. They are enjoying each other’s company and, maybe more than anything else, just having fun. This is reflected in the music; it is tight and loose, with Malkmus, Kelly, and Sweeney regularly swapping guitars, trading places on the stage, as well as sharing vocal duties. Even Jim White, in his bare feet, gets in on the act at one point when he howls a few words into the mic. There is a lovely communal, creative vibe to it all.
Over the course of 90 minutes The Hard Quartet play their debut album in its entirety. It is not some sort of processional, respectful walk-through of the record. Instead, the 15 songs are presented here in glorious widescreen, wonderfully lopsided melodies full of wild, dissonant, often discordant guitars crashing over the beautiful movement and rhythm of Jim White’s drumming. Without ever trying to be so, he must be one of the coolest dudes in modern music.
The collective foot comes temporarily off the gas for ‘Gripping the Riptide’ which decelerates into a bluesy dirge. Recent single and post-album track ‘Lies (Something You Can Do)’ slots neatly into the set, followed by the extensive free-jazz workout of ‘Six Deaf Rats’ where The Hard Quartet come over all Zappa. They return for an emotionally charged ‘Advice to the Graduate,’ written by the late great David Berman and drawn from the Silver Jews’ 1994 album Starlite Walker and a time when Stephen Malkmus was in that band.
Photos: Simon Godley
More photos of The Hard Quartet at Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
