The Hard Quartet, the supergroup of Stephen Malkmus, Matt Sweeney, Jim White, and Emmett Kelly, will release their debut album on October 4, and they’ve now shared a third single from the album, “Our Hometown Boy.”
It’s now pretty clear how much of a “group,” this is. First single “Earth Hater” was sung by Malkmus, second single “Rio’s Son” had Sweeney on lead vocals, and this new one features Emmett behind the mic. Rich with harmonies and jangly guitars, “Our Hometown Boy” recalls ’60s and ’70s pop by The Byrds and Big Star.
“In ‘Our Hometown Boy,’ The Hard Quartet mythologizes the fierce inhabitants of our shared hovels and shangri-las from the vantage point of a beach famous for the undertow,” Kelly says of the song. “A conversation about what paradise looks like peering out the window of a bar to a blizzard. Adventures in the skin trade. On the run and hitting the road. The green grass of home.”
Sweeney adds, “It’s, like, fucked up how good Emmett is at music.”
You can watch the “Our Hometown Boy” video, directed by Jake Sherbet and shot at the East Village’s International Bar (also a location for the “Rio’s Son” video), below.
The Hard Quartet will be playing their first shows this fall, hitting LA, London and NYC’s Webster Hall on 10/17.