'Once Upon A Time In The West' is the sophomore album from Surrey-based socio-political rockers Hard-Fi. Once again, Richard Archer's bittersweet dispatches from the suburbs are set to a backdrop of swaggering, Clash-esque rhythms and programmed beats, but this time around the songs are bigger, bolder and better, making for a better listening experience all round. Includes the single 'Suburban Knights'.

Mar 2007

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In what seemed a matter of months Hard-Fi had shapeshifted from indie chancers into one of Britain's biggest bands. Their first major tour sold out in a record 15 minutes and saw them play London's Brixton Academy for 5 consecutive nights - making them one of the few bands to do so alongside The Clash, Bob Dylan & The Prodigy - plus the only act to do it with their debut album.

Nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize and Best British Group at the 2006 BRITs after the debut, the band are back with sophomore release, 'Once Upon A Time In The West'. Standout tracks include the 70’s SKA-inspired ‘We Need Love’, and ‘Tonight’. "The latter is a big piano-driven number – it had a few incarnations before it became what it is, but it’s about the possibility of night time. History is made at night." Meanwhile, the former harks back to the Specials and was inspired by Billy Bragg’s acclaimed novella 'The Progressive Patriot'. Other highlights include the rousing R&B swagger of 'Can't Get Along' with its stomping Motown lilt, the stark fragility of 'Help Me Please' – a track written about the death of Richard’s mother – plus, 'I Shall Overcome' which echoes an early Clash while remaining truly, unmistakably Hard-Fi, and the lead single 'Suburban Knights'.

England's Hard-Fi emerged at the end of 2003, an emblem of the new DIY route to success. Having built a makeshift studio in an empty mini-cab office, the band scraped together enough money to record the six-track mini-album STARS OF CCTV. Released in October 2004, a limited edition run of 500 took only a few weeks to sell out. The quartet's thrilling, contemporary take on the late-1970s fusion of punk, dub and disco popularised by the Clash and the Specials, swiftly led to a contract with Atlantic Records. A full-length version of STARS OF CCTV--made up of remixed tracks and new material--was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, and in January 2006 belatedly topped the UK charts. The follow-up album, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, was one of the most eagerly awaited of 2007.