Sunday 09/09/07 Hard-Fi @ Cardiff Solus

Hard-Fi have always been a band that’s split musical opinion. Although their debut album ‘Stars Of CCTV ‘was, for some, choc-full of anthem-rousing laments - for others it was perceived as a trite attempt to replicate Clash-lite clarion calls about the British vernacular experience. The band’s latest offering is ‘Once Upon A Time In The West’, a record that clearly takes a marked step away from the gritty rhythms of their debut but still earmarks a sound that’s labelled ‘for the people’.

The Solus is crammed with of just a couple of hundred punters, clearly taking advantage of the band’s noble decision to play out to smaller crowds before hitting the arena circuit in December. The band stride onto the stage full of laddish swagger with front man Richard Archer flailing his arms towards all corners of the room.

Opener ‘Middle Eastern Holiday’ has Archer striding every inch of the stage, leering towards the crowd whilst his band fires up a signature dose of dub-style basslines and infectious guitar hooks. Recent single ‘Suburban Knights’ is smattered with one of the most rudimentary choruses of the years, but it’s nigh-on impossible not to echo back the beery “Hey eh eh/oh oh oh’s”  to an incredibly smug Archer.

The new material beds in well with the old guard, especially evident on ‘Tonight’  - another bittersweet lyric from Archer but containing a sound effervescent with brash guitar lines and cavernous percussion. As the set continues, Archer floats further towards the ceiling with sentiment such as “We’re number One... we’re f*cking number One! It’s all because of you guys and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts”.

The soppy atmosphere rolled further into the chest-beating ‘We Need Love’ - a progressive indie-ballad that demands swaying arms from all present. The Grandstand-soundtracking Hard To Beat has Archer at his most exuberant, thrusting his microphone into the crowd who duly respond to the football terrace-style chorus.

The ubiquitous ‘Living For The Weekend’ wraps up the set, with the band at their most musically decisive. The scaling rhythms cut out halfway through the track to allow Archer to cheekily comb his sizable quiff - as soon as the grooming ends the track kicks back in to allow one last bombastic chorus. Although it’s easy to pick holes in Hard-Fi’s tales of suburban woe and struggle against the system, it’s much easier to appreciate how great a band they are.