Stars of CCTV return

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So hip it hurts: Hard-Fi may have refused to put themselves on the cover of their new album but they clearly know the value of a good photograph

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• Suburban knights in Oxford St

Two years ago, Hard-Fi's charttopping debut Stars Of CCTV sold enough copies to make them one of the biggest bands in the country. Now they're about to take over the world with follow-up album Once Upon A Time In The West.

However, there could be a problem. The album has already been the subject of heated debate online and in the music press. But the deluge of discussion has not been concerned with the merits of the music. Instead, the to-do is over the album's cover: rather than opt for an airbrushed photo of them at their moodiest - an option favoured by their record label - Hard-Fi took the decision to adorn the record with a plain yellow sleeve bearing the slogan 'No Cover Art'.

'We didn't sit there and go: "Right, let's try and cause a stir",' insists singer Richard Archer, somewhat defensively, as he lounges on a sofa with bandmate Kai Stephens. 'It's trying to make a point that it's a shame the only covers now are photos of the bands.'

Whatever its intention, the cover has been derided in some quarters as the worst ever. Yet, it has also gained praise from such design luminaries as Peter Saville, who called it 'a White Album for the digital culture'.

The music the album cover has thus far obscured should cause less controversy. Once Upon A Time In The West sees Hard-Fi pump out incendiary rock singalongs, laced with social commentary. Despite the success he has been basking in since the first album, Archer's lyrics continue to tell bittersweet tales of small-time life in the suburbs.

here was a moment where you wonder what you can write about now. You can't write about being skint anymore,' he says, acknowledging their double platinum, Mercury-nominated debut.

'When we did the first album, we wrote about what was important to us and what was in our heart; you've just got to do that again. You hope if you're being true to yourselves that people will realise you're not being contrived or fake.'

In keeping with that down-to-earth mentality, the band returned to their converted minicab office-cum-studio to record. 'We extended our own studio and built this room to try to realise our dreams,' says Archer. 'We made life hard for ourselves but for the right reasons.'

Once built, they set about meticulously testing their studio's new possibilities. 'We had to try stuff out,' says Stephens. 'We didn't want to sit there thinking: "What if we'd done this?"'

At times the experimentation was a little too rigorous. When recording drums they found themselves physically hauling the kit from corner to corner, just in case the sound was better somewhere else. 'You have to try everything because you might stumble across something magical.'

The album's title is taken from the epic Sergio Leone western. Like Stars Of CCTV, it juxtaposes the heights of Hard-Fi's ambitions with the modesty of their beginnings. The 'west' in this case being Staines - the London suburb made famous by Ali G. 'It was a nice little pun,' notes Archer, 'and it just suggested something bigger and more expansive and cinematic. The best things are always nicked.'

With its pounding guitar slashes and dubby subterranean bass, lead single Suburban Knights once again pinches a few tricks from Hard-Fi's West London forebears, The Clash. A call to action for the masses, the song showcases a big sound, together with close-up content. 'It's for anyone who's ever felt disenfranchised, anyone who's ever felt there's a party going on that they're not invited to,' says Archer.

Stephens adds: 'It's an important track on the album because it really bridges the two albums. It's like the younger, more savvy relative of Tied Up Too Tight and Cash Machine.'

While The Clash have always been readily referenced by Archer and co (The Clash guitarist Mick Jones even turned up on stage with them at Brixton Academy last year), Hard-Fi also draw influence from less likely sources. Archer happily compares new track Little Angel to Amerie's One Thing, BeyoncÈ's Crazy In Love and Christina Aguilera's Ain't No Other Man.

'I love those tracks and I love Northern Soul, so we ended up doing this song that sounds like Christina Aguilera and The Clash having a fist fight in a back alley,' he chuckles. 'If it sounds good and feels exciting, who cares whether it's cool?'

For Hard-Fi, not caring about looking cool is taken to its logical end on stage. 'You get those nights when you see 5,000 people jumping up and down, some of whom are not regular gig-goers,' says Archer in celebration of the band's laddish fan base. 'You're singing Living For The Weekend and they're singing it back and they f***ing mean it because they live it. I sound like an old f***ing hippy but there's so much love in the room you can't help but be touched by it.'

Once Upon A Time In The West (Atlantic) is out today. On Thursday, Hard-Fi play the Hippodrome, 10-14 Cranbourn Street WC2, 7pm, £22 (returns only). Tel: 0870 264 3333. Tube: Leicester Square

 

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