Search - Hard Ons :: Very Exciting

+3/4 -- Pop-punk lives!

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 11/22/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Listening to this Australian trio's latest, their first new album in two years, it's as if no time at all has passed since the band's mid-80s debut. With original guitarist Blackie and bassist Lee supplemented by new drummer Pete, the band cranks out 15 new punk-pop tunes with hook-filled melodies and metal guitars that bridge from Matthew Sweet type power-pop to harder-rock.Though there are many American touchstones for the band's mid-tempo music (Ramones, Descendents, Mr. T Experience), there are also elements of the sort of UK rock bands that were lumped into late-70s punk/new-wave, e.g., Eddie & The Hot Rods, Bram Tchaikovsky, and Little Bob Story. To be sure, the Hard-Ons filtered these latter influences through the angst of `80s hardcore, but they picked up the energy of the latter, without losing the melody and Stones-ian rock `n' roll of the former. Even as they trash away at their guitars for tracks like "Sunny" and "Olympic Diver," they lay on falsetto harmonies as a counterpoint. Extra credit for the heavy-metal thunder of "(Every Time I Hear) Techno (I Pray for Death)," and its segue to the light-and-trippy "Breakfast Caramel."With Green Day, Blink 182, and the rest of the commercial punk darlings having brought these sounds to the masses, this isn't exactly unexplored territory, even in the mainstream. But for those who simply can't get enough, or for a nostalgic trip back to the underground of the mid-80s, this is the real deal.3-3/4 stars, if allowed fractional ratings."

Return to Greatness

cosburn_va | Alexandria, VA USA | 01/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Hard Ons remain one of the most influential bands in the pop-punk genre and have released their best album in years. Beginning with "Datelees Dudes Club" and ending with "Too Far Gone," the Hard Ons explored every nook and cranny of their original line-up and ending with a disc (TFG) that was largely experimental, save "Trouble, Trouble," which remains one of the strongest songs they've ever released. The departure of Keish (w/Blackie taking over vocals) and their hiatus has paid off in the newest version of the band. "Sunny" is the best pop-punk song of recent memory and is orders of magnitude better than the snotty, polished, and flaccid efforts now formulated by Blink-182, Sum 41, Good Charlotte, et al. If you ever wondered where these bands got their ideas, look beyond the Descendents and Green Day to Australia, and find the Hard Ons."