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Hard-Fi's desire to create something solid enjoyable in the midst of everyday monotony is what makes Stars of CCTV an enjoyable first effort.
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Despite some interesting accoutrements (tasteful trumpets yay, bombastic strings meh) and some game attempts at eclecticism (acoustic pluck wicked, piano ballad oh geez), Stars of CCTV is of a part with the varied guitar-driven stuff that their fellow Mercury nominees-- Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, etc.,-- have offered folks this past year.
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UncutThe likes of "Hard To Beat" and "Cash Machine" jack not just the offbeat skank and dubby bass of The Specials but some of their creeping dread and downbeat humanity as well. [Aug 2005, p.92]
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Exciting, catchy and highly promising.
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MojoA steely-eyed desperation to succeed is transparent all through Hard-Fi's debut. [Aug 2005, p.112]
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Q MagazineA rousing debut. [Aug 2005, p.123]
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The wonder of 'Stars...' is how magnificently alive all this suburban angst sounds.
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Their Clash-inspired punk funk bites music ideas from the Specials and the Happy Mondays, but singer Richard Archer gets his songs from street life, dead-end jobs, run-ins with the law.
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It possesses that raw energy that was present in two other exciting debuts, Is This It? by The Strokes and Definitely Maybe by Oasis.
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Under The RadarHard-Fi don't quite have the lyrical prowess or songwriting chops yet to make the dent they'd like. [#13, p.92]
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Hard-Fi's edge over more derivative rivals lies in a formula that delivers old Specials and Clash reggae vibes with the big-tune ratio of a boy band.
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Entertainment WeeklyAn album of tight and spiky blue-collar dance rock. [17 Mar 2006, p.114]
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Cribbing from Franz Ferdinand's sonic playbook (with a healthy dose of fellow revivalists Dead 60s, Kasabian, and--why not?--Kaiser Chiefs thrown in), Hard-Fi builds roiling, angsty anthems built upon Richard Archer's stark evocations of life in suburban London.
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There isn't much about Stars Of CCTV that hasn't already been done and better.
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These guys are passionate about what they're doing.
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Fuses the chavvy charm of working-class Britain to a stream of anthemic, pure pop melodies in the service of pissed and pissed-off youth worldwide.
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BlenderA slice of British street life with strut, and guitars. [Apr 2006, p.112]
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"Stars of CCTV" is that rare British import that lives up to the advance billing.
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The triumphant "Star's Of CCTV" will be to guitar bands what The Street's "Original Pirate Material" was to the UK urban music: essential listening.
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For fans of indie-rock with a poppy slant, Stars of CCTV is an absolute necessity.
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Musically there's nothing on 'Stars of CCTV' that stands out as particularly innovative or imaginative[;] it's above average modern indie fare made with gusto by people who want to make records that sound like the records they like: The Clash, The Specials, The Verve and a bunch of other bygone Britpoppers.
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Archer and friends deserve praise for making an album so rooted in its locale so appealing to a wider audience due to the never-ending amount of catchy hooks and melodies on display on Stars Of CCTV.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 43 out of 50
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Mixed: 4 out of 50
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Negative: 3 out of 50
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Dec 15, 2010
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EdwardMMay 12, 2007
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Dec 21, 2014