Indie Rock’s New Supergroup: An Introduction to The Hard Quartet

The very idea of an indie rock supergroup seems counterintuitive.

But how else does one describe a band of indie rock legends? The Hard Quartet features Stephen Malkmus (Pavement and the Jicks), Matt Sweeney (Chavez, Superwolf), Jim White (Dirty Three), and Emmett Kelly (The Cairo Gang, The Double, Ty Segall).

Monster Children recently put the “supergroup” question to Malkmus and Kelly. “It’s a little cheesy, but I’ve been called worse,” said Malkmus. Kelly appears less bashful about the label: “Well, people are going to call you whatever they’re going to call you. We are just a normal group, but it’s cool. I’m not too fussed about it,” he said.

Also, this isn’t Sweeney’s first time in a supergroup. He joined Billy Corgan’s short-lived Zwan in 2001. A kind of full-circle moment if you remember the Smashing Pumpkins mention in Pavement’s “Range Life.” 

Matador Wilburys

Rolling Stone’s Rob Sheffield landed on a fine descriptor: Matador Wilburys. A little “Handle With Care” via Matador Records. Still, it would be shocking if, at some point, Malkmus didn’t fire off a text message to the others: Temple of the Jicks.

The debut from The Hard Quartet is 52 minutes of classic-ish rock by friends having fun taking old sounds somewhere new. It’s the obvious camaraderie reflecting the Traveling Wilburys sounding more like friends jamming than rock’s biggest icons.

“Rio’s Song” distills the good times in a loose folk-rock track with a Rolling Stones-inspired music video. With Sweeney and Malkmus as Mick and Keef, The Hard Quartet remade the Stones video for “Waiting on a Friend.” Sweeney sings, Gone up above the world again, adding cosmic grit to an album sprinkled with in-jokes.

Uninvited Guests Are Leaving (Must Have Been the Malediction)

“Chrome Mess” opens their self-titled debut with a brutal glam riff, though most songs cruise by with laid-back grooves and friendly vibes. “Heel Highway” begins with Malkmus singing, Bring me peace on Earth / And shelter from the melody—a slice of earnestness from the man who put the slacker in slacker rock. An easy mood saturates The Hard Quartet, and “Heel Highway” is one drawn up for road trips.

Still, Malkmus is anything but a slacker. He, like the others, has produced a sprawling discography. And this stacked 15-track debut shows no shortage of material from this group.

Midway through the album, Sweeney sings “Killed by Death,” followed by Malkmus’ “Hey.” Sweeney’s is dark Americana, the despair from deafening silence. “Hey” is a gorgeous ode to human connection, the illusions people play, the traits they assert while hiding behind versions of themselves they’ve allowed others to see.

Hey, someone like you
Is into the games that you’re playing
Hey, I want a little part of me in there
It’s crystal clear if you squint

Brilliantly Dazed and Bemused

Indie rock has taken many forms. But Malkmus represents a time when guitar-based bands dominated pop culture. Though bands like Weezer and Radiohead sold more records, they both looked to Pavement for the roadmap. Malkmus would sneer at this comment, but he’s one of his generation’s most influential guitarists and songwriters.

Cue the Pavement classic “Cut Your Hair” or the finger-plucked solo jam “Pink India.” Or the oozing guitars on the Jicks’ “Vanessa from Queens.” But The Hard Quartet is a band without a leader. Kelly sings “North of the Border” and the album is so synthesized you may not notice the changing singers. Meanwhile, White’s drumming steadies the caroming guitars.

Returning to the supergroup question, maybe this is just a great band of four musicians who admire each other. Contrasting how modern producers strip away anything approaching human imperfection, The Hard Quartet breathes. It feels like an invitation to a friend’s house to hang out while they jam.

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