The Hard Quartet Release Debut Album, Announce Australian Tour

News

7 Oct

The quartet comprises music greats Stephen Malkmus, Matt Sweeney, Emmett Kelly and Jim White.

Newly formed rock supergroup The Hard Quartet surprise dropped their self-titled debut album last week.

Comprising Stephen Malkmus (Pavement), Matt Sweeney (Chavez, Superwolf), Emmett Kelly (The Cairo Gang, Bonnie “Prince” Billy) and Jim White (Dirty Three), The Hard Quartet’s debut brings together the four’s varied influences and harnesses them into 15 tracks of blissful ear candy.

Coming together in May of 2023, the band debunked to studios in NYC and Malibu to record their first album, even keeping the project secret from friends and family. The album is already receiving rave reviews, with The Guardian awarding it four out of five stars and Clash calling it a “compelling work that just takes over, in the best possible way.”

“We come from such different places and we have such different career histories, but I think that now we’re all in a similar place, which is kind of strange to acknowledge,” Kelly says about the band.

Stephen Malkmus adds: “This just seems like a really good band for us all to be in for the foreseeable future. We’ll go until the wheels fall off. I can’t think of three better guys than these three guys. There’s something sweet and solid about the vibe.”

You can stream The Hard Quartet here.

The Hard Quartet will embark on their first Australian tour in January 2025 following showcase performances in New York, Los Angeles and London.

The band begins their trek across Australia in Brisbane at The Princess Theatre on Friday, January 17. Then it’s on to Syndey’s Metro Theatre on Saturday, January 18, Fremantle’s Arts Centre on Tuesday, January 21 and Adelaide’s The Gov on Thursday, January 23. The final two dates occur at Theatre Royal in Castlemaine on Friday, January 24 and Northcote Theatre in Melbourne on Saturday, January 25.

Tickets for all five shows go on sale Tuesday, October 8 via Feel Presents.

Having begun recording their debut earlier this year, The Hard Quartet released their first single ‘Earth Hater' in July. They followed this with ‘Rio’s Song’ and the latest single ‘Our Hometown Boy’.

The four-piece also shared a 12-minute documentary introducing the band entitled, A Tender Look at the Hard Quartet. You can watch it here.

Catch The Hard Quartet at The Gov on Thursday, January 23. For full ticketing details visit the Feel Presents website.