Archers of Loaf, Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr., Sugar, Pavement, Guided by Voices, Yo La Tengo, Sloan, Superchunk (etc. etc. ad nauseum) were all responsible for putting their own spin on the evolving post-punk genre in the late 80s - early 90s. The ensuing self-deprecating, power-pop laced the collegiate airwaves, committing itself to tangible melodies alongside punk’s blistering ethos. It’s still with us, and arguably, will continue on. Arguably, it’s always been there.
San Jose’s Hard Girls are cut from that same cloth, and even though the trio is fairly new to the world, its seed was planted 10+ years before. In fact, Hard Girls is really a collective pulled from the corners of San Jose’s local punk scene in the 00s. Mike Huguenor hails from Shinobu, while Morgan Herrell and Max Feshbach stem from Pteradon. If you were to add Jesse Michaels to the mix, you’d have a different band, altogether (Classics of Love).
So, side-project? Sure. Supergroup? Okay. Incestuous? Yup. Purveyor of crazy-sick pop-punk hooks. Damn straight. Hard Girls “Isn’t It Worse” is all-the-above, no doubt.
A pavement-esque riff opens the record on “Focus on the Tedium” which is quickly supplanted by a frantic slacker-pop vibe of “Hot For the Halo.” Songs like “Fed by the Eater” smack of obscure indie acts like Possum Dixon (complete with abstract, feedback interlude), while the more punk vein reveals itself on tracks like the albums closer, “Major Payne,” and “Swamp With Potential.” The band greatest variants show up in the midwestern bar-rock feel of “Mary-Anne” with an intro lending itself to an unbridled jam reminiscent of J. Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.).
There’s no dearth of addictive riffs during the 9-song set of “Isn’t it Worse,” in a display that seems natural for the San Jose three-piece. They’re the kind of pop-sensibilities that shore up the second you hit the alarm in the morning, and grace your day throughout - celebrating the half-awake zombi-fied moments, as well as the drunken walks home from the bar. (Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.)
And that just kind of makes Hard Girls something exceptional.
The "Isn't it Worse" L.P. is available via Asian Man Records, and can be streamed HERE.
