"Skinheads Home For Christmas" is a Christmas single in the classic pop tradition, from hard-mod/punk band Hard Left. Brought together by the music, held together by the outrage -- Hard Left are a 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, Juke, Whorl, Ciao Bella, Lunchbox, Black Tambourine, Kids On A Crime Spree and operating the respected labels 555 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."

Now they follow-up with the first fruits from their August 2014 album sessions. Carefully packaged to recall the classic look of 70s UK pop singles, "Skinheads Home For Christmas" is a thumping tune with it's tongue in cheek, but only just. Slotting into a long tradition of holiday-themed pop singles, Hard Left bring that feeling of hopefulness to to the grittier end of the musical spectrum. And of course it's a top tune, worthy of it's street-punk lineage.

On the flip side the band tear into the John Paul Young/Bay City Roller's classic "Yesterday's Hero" with characteristic flair, amping up the tale of faded glory into an anthem of resistance. Crammed with guitars that soar and rage, terrace chants and raw-throated vocals, the song builds to a huge climax. A worthy (and rather unlikely!) addition to the punk canon.

Scattered across the east and west coasts of the US and the Arizona desert, Hard Left came together to bring you great punk, with a message of passion, resistance and hope. Call it "utopian Oi" if you will, or "hard mod," but keep your ears open for more music soon from this compelling band.


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

Hard Left - Yesterday's Hero (John Paul Young/Bay City Rollers cover)

"Skinheads Home For Christmas" is a Christmas single in the classic pop tradition, from hard-mod/punk band Hard Left. Brought together by the music, held together by the outrage -- Hard Left are a 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, Juke, Whorl, Ciao Bella, Lunchbox, Black Tambourine, Kids On A Crime Spree and operating the respected labels 555 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."

Now they follow-up with the first fruits from their August 2014 album sessions. Carefully packaged to recall the classic look of 70s UK pop singles, "Skinheads Home For Christmas" is a thumping tune with it's tongue in cheek, but only just. Slotting into a long tradition of holiday-themed pop singles, Hard Left bring that feeling of hopefulness to to the grittier end of the musical spectrum. And of course it's a top tune, worthy of it's street-punk lineage.

On the flip side the band tear into the Bay City Roller's classic "Yesterday's Hero" with characteristic flair, amping up the tale of faded glory into an anthem of resistance. Crammed with guitars that soar and rage, terrace chants and raw-throated vocals, the song builds to a huge climax. A worthy (and rather unlikely!) addition to the punk canon.

Scattered across the east and west coasts of the US and the Arizona desert, Hard Left came together to bring you great punk, with a message of passion, resistance and hope. Call it "utopian Oi" if you will, or "hard mod," but keep your ears open for more music soon from this compelling band.


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


Hard Left - Skinheads Home For Christmas

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

Hard Left - Red Flag

Hard Left - Imagination

Our pals Echo Wanderer and Downpour cooked up some ace dub and jungle remixes of a few tunes from our album. Well dread, comrades. 

Get the limited edition tape here: https://hardleft.bandcamp.com/album/version-excursion

Imagination (Echo Wanderer Meets Hard Left Inna Jungle)

Imagination (Echo Wanderer Dub)


FPR 004
Hard Left "Economy" 7" EP
release date: April 22, 2016

Track Listing:
A1: Economy
A2: In A Crowd
B1: Hoxton Market Forces
B2: The Oxford Voice


“…it’s pretty easy to get swept up in the rush of the songs and the sound, because in 2015 punk doesn't get much more punk -- or much better -- than this.” - AllMusic

“Hard Left sound remarkably like a number of British punk favourites from the late 1970s and early 1980… the album is, after all, full of one minute tracks of catchy, singalong, ‘anyone can do it’, rabble rousing punk rock”  - Louder Than War

“if you like gruff street punk you will like this.” - Punknews


Hard Left are a hard-mod/punk band born 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.

Their debut album "We Are Hard Left" is a concise and explosive punk record, packed with anthems of resistance and calls to action. It 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.

Now they're back with this new 4 song 7" EP entitled "Economy." On the A-side we have the super-tough title track, a modish and Marxist shout from the terraces. "Economy" is urgent, driving and is perhaps the first punk song in recent memory to quote radical German writer Georg Büchner. Kicked off by a sharp riff and Comrade M's mad cackle, "In A Crowd" is also a nod to the band's mod influences. It's a call to arms wrapped up in an incendiary, thrilling punk tune: a simply electric 85 seconds.

On the flip the band collaborates with noted ranting poet Tim Wells. Straight from east London, Wells is made of reggae, lager top, pie & mash and Leyton Orient FC. "Hoxton Market Forces," taken from Wells' latest book "Everything Crash," is a pin-sharp indictment of urban gentrification set to a roiling pop-art explosion of a tune. Wells seethes with indignation while the band smashes it up behind him; chaos beckons but never quite takes over. The EP wraps up with Wells reciting DH Lawrence's "The Oxford Voice" over a handclap-fueled glam stomper. Pure magic, and an excellent example of why Wells and Hard Left sought each other out.


For more info-
Hard Left: https://www.facebook.com/hardleft77
Tim Wells: https://standupandspit.wordpress.com


The Oxford Voice

Hoxton Market Forces

In A Crowd

Economy

PLEASE NOTE: 
While you are welcome to freely download and share this release, any "name your price" proceeds will be donated to Jacobin Magazine, a journal of socialist perspectives on politics, economics, and culture.
For more info: https://www.jacobinmag.com

Hard Left are a hard-mod/punk band born 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. 

Their debut album "We Are Hard Left" is a concise and explosive punk record, packed with anthems of resistance and calls to action. It 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. 

In April 2016 they released a 4 song 7" EP entitled "Economy." A short, sharp blast of mod-influenced Marxist punk, it was recorded quickly and the tough recording reflects the urgency of the songs. For two of the tunes the band collaborated with noted east London poet Tim Wells, and the results are well dread. 

This new single "Strike For America" is taken from the same 2015 session as the previous EP, and it's also a rousing call to arms. The title track envisions a glorious general strike, wherein workers across the country (and the world!) join arms and send the neoliberal exploiters and saboteurs scurrying back into their ratholes. It's a wild 90 second blast, street punk of the highest order. The other tune is "Western Rifles," which takes an oblique look at western imperialism, setting it's critique to a minute and a half of blistering, shout-along punk. 

Catch Hard Left on tour in November: 
24.11 - Berlin - Wild At Heart 
25.11 - London - Resistance Gallery w/Tim Wells & Shocks of Mighty 
26.11 - Leeds - The Royal Park w/City Yelps & DJ Richard Brass 
27.11 - Glasgow - The 13th Note w/Anxiety

Strike For America

Hard Left - Western Rifles

Hard Left - Strike For America

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.

Popular tracks by HardLeft77