Last fall, we were gifted with a somewhat unexpected release from a new “supergroup” of sorts called The Hard Quartet. Featuring Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus along with venerable go-to talents Matt Sweeney, Jim White, and Emmett Kelly, the group’s album dabbled in a sort of worship of old Britpop and psych, freak-folk, and garage rock, albeit with the artistic stamp of each musician involved. Despite the album being on many a best-of list and Glide contributor Shawn Donohue calling it a “gorgeous collection of fuzzy indie-rock earworms that ebb and flow with scruffy charm,” The Hard Quartet are still something of an under-the-radar act that appeals as much to guitar nerds as it stirs curiosity amongst fans of each member’s day job. They’ve also been on tour for the last couple of months, and on Wednesday, May 7th, The Hard Quartet came to Portland, Oregon’s Revolution Hall for one of their final North American tour dates.
When the band members strolled onto the stage, they resembled more of a jazz act than a rock band, with Matt Sweeney and Emmett Kelly wearing white dress shirts while Jim White exuded a cool classiness in dark layers as he calmly positioned himself behind his drum kit. Malkmus contrasted his band mates with a bright green shirt and baggy pants, a fitting juxtaposition considering the color he would bring on guitar. Indeed, The Hard Quartet’s live performance was perhaps best defined by a sort of mellow intensity that rarely if ever boiled over. This was evident from the first song “Thug Dynasty” with its Endless Summer soundtrack-meets-Velvet Underground vibes, as well as in “Hell Highway” with its mix of slacker rock and Britpop with a touch of doo wop vocals tossed in (because why not?!) for good measure. With only one album under their belt and little interest in playing the music from their main bands, The Hard Quartet mostly stuck to playing the record straight through. Besides the sheer talent of the musicians, what made it especially compelling in the live setting was watching them casually swap instruments on nearly every song as they rotated through bass duties and lead guitar.
The fluid dynamics also played into the musical chemistry on display, with highlights including Malkmus and Sweeney trading licks and harmonizing on the sunny psych-folk of “Rio’s Song” and the band conjuring up a bright jangle pop sound on “Our Hometown Boy.” They also occasionally bantered, with Malkmus telling the crowd he spent his day in Portland (his former home base until recently) getting dental work, before dedicating a menacing, punk-inflected version of “Earth Hater” to his dentist that segued into the swashbuckling garage rock glory of “Renegade.” “Killed by Death” was a highlight that buzzed with fuzzy guitar twang, while the slow and sweet “Hey” was perhaps the most Pavement-esque song of the night.
While the band kept the performance controlled and relaxed, they also didn’t hold back on showcasing guitar chops. “Gripping the Riptide” took on the feel of a mournful Neil Young jam, while Malkmus dedicated “Six Deaf Rats” to Maloy’s Jewelry “in the heart of downtown Portland” as he hit transcendent high notes before the full band unleashed their collective power on the blistering rocker “Action for Military Boys.” By the time the band reached their final tune, a version of “Chrome Mess” that was the best moment of the night with its catchy melodies, swelling and grungy guitar attack, and psyched-out, feedback-laced guitar solos, they had succeeded in proving that The Hard Quartet is among Malkmus’ best side projects and will hopefully have enough longevity to bring us another album.
