ALBUM REVIEW: HARD PLACE
renata raksha
Hard Place
Get Your Hopes Up CD
World Famous in SF
Hard Place are consistently compared with Devo (the wackiness), Sparks (the punk-style humor) and Queen (the sexy awesome total rock ‘n’ roll vocalists). But musically Hard Place is closer to the likes of Glass Candy, Peaches—if Peaches went arena rock—and even touches of Swedish art rock act the Knife. (With a sharper edge, if you will.) The title track of this first EP starts like the smoke-filled stage entrance of a gorgeous dual-gendered hair metal band with Huizenga’s lustrous voice complimenting Cristy’s rather precise guitar shredding. The rest of the album is electronic rock with great lyrics (“A pearl necklace is better than a diamond ring!”) all delivered with humor, genuine talent and skill. This is the kind of album you put on full blast in the car on your way to the dance club when you’re ready for an auto danse party. “The Photographer” is a bit of a Kraftwerk throwback with full-tilt Top 40 catchiness and “Better in Leather” is like an updated “Sex Dwarf.” Hard Place’s first album might not yet be as epically enduring as their influences, but right now they sure as hell are a fun band to listen to and watch.
— Chesney Higgins
it’s actually out on World Famous In SF Records, is a full length cd and it rules! track 3 is great for a monday morning pick-me-up while grabbing some caffeine.
Corrected to accurately reflect reality!
This is one of the most fun bands I’ve seen in recent years in L.A. My gal-pal and I went apeshit with delight the night we saw them play and the singer (dressed in a Budweiser one-piece bathing suit) staged a one-woman pie fight as they brought the set to a halt. Great times, great tunes, and great outfits. Methinks though that Hard Place sounds and looks not too much like either Devo or Queen (Sparks I’ll give you though) and much more like Berlin! Pleasure Victims was a helluvan album!