Recorded by The Safe Distance.
Written and originally recorded by Bogshed.
Uploaded here as a tribute to the late Phil Hartley, singer in the inimitable Bogshed.

The Safe Distance are Crayola, Stewart and David.

Recorded in England and the USA
Mixed in the USA

The Safe DIstance - Fat Lad Exam Failure

Order the LP/free download: https://hardleft.bandcamp.com/album/we-are-hard-left

"We Are Hard Left" is the debut album from Hard Left. Brought together by the music, held together by the outrage -- Hard Left are a hard-mod/punk band borne out of a desire to explore leftist political ideas and marry them to rabble-rousing music worthy of the worldwide struggle against capital. Far from a dry exercise in doctrinaire thought, Hard Left's songs are great punk first and foremost, and ripping good fun.

The band members have been involved with punk and DIY music for nearly a century combined, including time in bands like Boyracer, Jüke, Whorl, Lunchbox and Black Tambourine, and operating the respected labels 555, Emotional Response and Slumberland Records. Initial Hard Left recording sessions in Spring 2014 led to the release of two limited edition lathe-cut singles, the Situationist-inspired "What's That Sound?" and the tough-as-nails "Safety." The band set to writing and in August 2014 gathered in the desert of Flagstaff, AZ to record. The results were two more singles ("Skinheads Home For Christmas" and a split 7" with Bad Daddies, both released in December 2014), and now this album.

"We Are Hard Left" is a concise and explosive punk record, packed with anthems of resistance and calls to action. These are crucial times that we live in, and Hard Left seek to inspire and invigorate. The opener "New Year" sets out the band's stall in fine fashion, urging listeners to "give up false needs" and embrace new beginnings. They follow with the blasting "Hard Left Rules OK," a call to arms if ever there was one. The album is tightly edited, each song on the heels of the previous one, exemplifying the group's eagerness to broadcast their message and energize their fans.

To that end, rousing chants and noisy interludes are interspersed throughout, cheeky but pointed references to their mod forebears and street-level terrace "politics." The message is always positive, the underlying mood is of hopefulness. "Hand In Hand" is an exhilarating call for solidarity and collective action, while "Future Perfect" imagines a world where the people were the true beneficiaries of the surplus created by progress, the perfect future we were all promised during the golden age of capitalism. Previous singles "Safety" and "Stay True" appear in re-recorded form, hard as nails and fitting in perfectly.

From the super-tough "Kicking If Off" to the Occupy-inspired "Red Flag" and the supremely uplifting (and also Situationist-inspired) closer "Imagination," this is a record that hits hard, crammed with guitars that soar and rage, group chants and raw-throated vocals. It's anthemic in the best way -- inspiring but never heavy-handed, a worthy successor to records by bands like The Clash, Stiff Little Fingers, Sex Pistols and The Dils.  Call it "utopian Oi" if you will, or "hard mod" or just plain punk, but don't miss out on this passionate, thrilling record.


Hard Left are:
Mike: exhortations
Donna: bass, vocals
Tim: guitar, vocals
Stewart: drums, vocals


Hard Left - Kicking It Off

Recorded by Stan Wright at Buzz Or Howl Studios, late Spring 2015 ... available on the upcoming compilation Typical Girls (Emotional Response Records/Future Perfect Records), coming Fall 2015. Photo is Street Eaters in Budapest, Hungary by Tamas Bernath

Lyrics:
My legs are stiffening, I wonder why?
I sit all day in the still, still air
You sit and watch my motions
Follow my moves, feel what I feel
There's a price to pay for real movement
Manipulative, prohibitive, escalating
There's a price to escape, there's a price to remain
There's a price for everything at all
It's beautiful outside
But all the light I get is from UV waves
Two sides to every mirror
Looking into and back at your eyes
Although I haven't lost capability
Is physicality proscribed?
Hidden cameras stretch their fingers 
Into our lives, into our minds
With hidden cameras we watch the wild ones
We watch them move...We feel them move
Two sides to every mirror
Looking into and back at your eyes
I'm paralyzed
...but I follow your movements with my eyes

Paralyzed

Amy And Stewart - The Lights Are Out

Title track from The World's debut 7" EP 'Managerial Material', out on April 1st through Upset The Rhythm.

Pre-order here: http://upsettherhythm.bigcartel.com/

The World - 'Managerial Material'

Skee Mask - Shred

A1. Everest
A2. HAl Conv.
A3. Autotuned
B1. Shred 08
B2. Backcountry
B3. Melczop 2
C1. Zenker Haze Trak
C2. Reshape
C3. Japan Air
D1. Shady Jibbin'
D2. Panorama
D3. South Mathematikz

Photo by Nadia C. Cortellesi

The second album on Ilian Tape comes again out of Munich city. Skee Mask doesn’t spend a day without making music and the dedication, attention to detail and architectural approach really make this album an absolute trip to listen to. It’s the sound of a peaceful and energetic place. It’s smoky and cosy. It’s where Skee Mask spends most of his time. He lives for the music and we are really happy that this freak became a core member of the Ilian Tape family. This album is made for true lovers and hustlers. Turn it up loud!


ITLP02 SKEE MASK - SHRED

An all vinyl, 2 turntable live mix of music from the 22a Tribe- the Peckham Underground making hazy Instrumental Hip Hop and patchy beats gleaned from the dusty bins of funk, reggae, & outernational soul.
Think: Madlib's Yesterday's New Quintet. Music from Mo Kolours, Al Dobson, Jr, Jeen Bassa, Tenderlonious, Henry Wu, FYI Chris plus Romare, Mndsgn, Falty DL, and J. Dilla.

JEEN BASSA
MO KOLOURS
FALTY DL
JEEN BASSA
REGINALD OMAS MAMMODE IV
JEEN BASSA
MO KOLOURS
REGINALD OMAS MAMMODE IV
JEEN BASSA
AL DOBSON, JR
MNDSGN
HENRY WU
FYI CHRIS
HENRY WU
AL DOBSON, JR
MO KOLOURS
ROMARE
MNDSGN
LOCAL ARTIST
FYI CHRIS
J. DILLA
MO KOLOURS





Taken from The World's forthcoming debut 7", out April 1st through Upset The Rhythm.

Available here: http://upsettherhythm.bigcartel.com/

The World - 'In Pieces'

Hard Left is a political punk band inspired by liberatory leftist movements of the past and present. Our music is a soundtrack for direct action, an invitation to critical thought and a challenge to complacency. We privilege the "we" over the "I" and argue for the centrality of class struggle in our collective battle against neoliberalism, authoritarianism and imperialism. Hard Left believes in the power of art to enlighten as well as entertain, and we strive to do both.

Hard Left - Kicking It Off

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