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Aug 20, 2024 By Mark Redfern Photography by Atiba Jefferson

The Hard Quartet are a new supergroup of sorts featuring Stephen Malkus, Emmett Kelly, Matt Sweeney, and Jim White. Now the band have announced their self-titled debut album and shared a new single from it, “Rio’s Song,” via a music video.The Hard Quartet is due out October 4 via Matador. Watch the new video below, followed by the album’s tracklist and cover artwork, as well as the band’s upcoming tour dates.

The band previously shared their debut single, “Earth Hater.”

The Hard Quartet is Stephen Malkus (Pavement, Silver Jews, The Jicks, Straw Dogs), Emmett Kelly (The Cairo Gang, The Double, Ty Segall, and more), Matt Sweeney (Chavez, Superwold, Red Dead Redemption 2, Guided by Voices, Cat Power, Johnny Cash, and more), and Jim White (Dirty Three, Xylouris white, Cat Power, Bill Callahan, Guy Picciotto, and Venom Stinger).

The band collectively had this to say about the video for “Rio’s Song” in a press release: “The ‘Rio’s Song’ video is The Hard Quartet’s homage to street rock in the hot afternoon and clowning around with lifer friends in downtown New York City. Director Jared Sherbert shot it guerrilla style on St Mark’s Place and in The International Bar on July 15 2024. It features local NYC artists, musicians, activists, skaters and icons who are dear to the band.”

Kelly had this to say in the press release: “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?”

Malkmus simply says: “We’re all jazzed.”

Sweeny adds: “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.”

And finally, White says: “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.”

The Hard Quartet Tracklist:

1. Chrome Mess
2. Earth Hater
3. Rio’s Song
4. Our Hometown Boy
5. Renegade
6. Heel Highway
7. Killed By Death
8. Hey
9. It Suits You
10. Six Deaf Rats
11. Action For Military Boys
12. Jacked Existence
13. North of the Border
14. Thug Dynasty
15. Gripping the Riptide

The Hard Quartet Tour Dates:

Oct 10 - Los Angeles, US @ The Belasco w/Papa M
Oct 17 - New York, US @ Webster Hall w/Weak Signal
Oct 22 - London, UK @ Electric Ballroom w/Tubs

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