{"product_id":"the-hard-quartet-the-hard-quartet","title":"THE HARD QUARTET - The Hard Quartet","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #ff0000;\" mce-data-marked=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e2LP - Standard Edition Black Vinyl. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Hard Quartet\u003c\/strong\u003e announce their eponymous debut album, out October 4th on \u003cstrong\u003eMatador Records\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFollowing 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. Watch it HERE. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"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!”)”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Hard Quartet will play debut shows in New York, Los Angeles and London in October. The band will be touring extensively in 2025.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Hard Quartet\u003c\/strong\u003e is comprised of:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEmmett Kelly\u003c\/strong\u003e, a songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist best known for his work in \u003cstrong\u003eThe Cairo Gang\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eThe Double\u003c\/strong\u003e, as well as in the company of artists such as \u003cstrong\u003eBonnie “Prince” Billy\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eTy Segall\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eRob Mazurek\u003c\/strong\u003e, and many more.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStephen Malkmus\u003c\/strong\u003e, a songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist best known for his work with \u003cstrong\u003ePavement\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003ethe Jicks\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eSilver Jews\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eStraw Dogs\u003c\/strong\u003e, and eponymously.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMatt Sweeney\u003c\/strong\u003e, a songwriter, guitarist, producer and vocalist best known for his work with \u003cstrong\u003eChavez\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eSuperwolf\u003c\/strong\u003e, his music for \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eRed Dead Redemption 2\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e and his guitar work in the company of a panoply of artists from \u003cstrong\u003eGuided by Voices\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eCat Power\u003c\/strong\u003e to \u003cstrong\u003eJohnny Cash\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eAdele\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eJim White\u003c\/strong\u003e, a drummer and songwriter best known for his work with \u003cstrong\u003eDirty Three\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eXylouris White\u003c\/strong\u003e, eponymous-ly, and with such stalwarts as \u003cstrong\u003eGuy Picciotto\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eCat Power\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eBill Callahan\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eVenom P Stinger\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Leave yourself behind and go into something where you’re actually listening to others and trying to come up with a solution to whatever kind of esoteric thing you are attempting to do in your life. You know what I mean?” — \u003cstrong\u003eE.K.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“We’re all jazzed.” — \u003cstrong\u003eS.M.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The way Jim plays really affected the way I hear things. He has this way of making everything sound good. All of a sudden, you really pay attention to everything else that’s going on because of what Jim is doing.”— \u003cstrong\u003eM.S.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“There’s this thing where I’ll have a story in my head when I have an intention, and I can hear it in the drums. It doesn’t matter if I tell anyone—even the people I’m playing with. You don’t even have to be particularly conscious of it yourself. But if you have an intention, something happens to the sound. It’s really weird.” — J.W.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Matador Records","offers":[{"title":"2LP - Black Vinyl","offer_id":49136358064473,"sku":"SDZ-36269","price":30.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0588\/3455\/0945\/files\/Hard_Quartet_-_The_Hard_Quartet_-_CD_-_2024.jpg?v=1781240086","url":"https:\/\/spindizzyrecords.com\/products\/the-hard-quartet-the-hard-quartet","provider":"Spindizzy Dublin","version":"1.0","type":"link"}