The Hard Quartet - The Hard Quartet [CD]

Following speculation, The Hard Quartet's existence was made official on July 30th with the band's first single and video, 'Earth Hater', and an accompanying video directed by EYEDRESS. 'Soon, the whole group is reflecting and laughing and offering a window into the free-wheeling process that informs their proudly leaderless new collaboration: an idea first proposed by Sweeney over the phone to Malkmus during the early days of the pandemic,' wrote GQ in a short profile piece introducing the group. 'After collaborating in various permutations and running into each other frequently on the road, the idea of making music together - by nobody's rules but their own, distinct from any industry trends or standards - felt like a no-brainer. Sweeney looks back in awe at the Hard Quartet's first week of working together, during which they quickly amassed nearly an album's worth of songs and settled into an identity that felt distinct from any of their previous projects. ('This is not a project - it's a band', Malkmus says firmly. Sweeney responds with a triumphant, guttural, 'Yeeeah!').

Disc 1
1. Chrome Mess - The Hard Quartet
2. Earth Hater - The Hard Quartet
3. Rio's Song - The Hard Quartet
4. Our Hometown Boy - The Hard Quartet
5. Renegade - The Hard Quartet
6. Heel Highway - The Hard Quartet
7. Killed By Death - The Hard Quartet
8. Hey - The Hard Quartet
9. It Suits You - The Hard Quartet
10. Six Deaf Rats - The Hard Quartet
11. Action for Military Boys - The Hard Quartet
12. Jacked Existence - The Hard Quartet
13. North of the Border - The Hard Quartet
14. Thug Dynasty - The Hard Quartet
15. Gripping the Riptide - The Hard Quartet