Australian punk icons, The Hard-Ons, are back with a new single, impending album and European tour
Golden Robot Records will release The Hard-Ons’ new album, ‘Ripper 23’, worldwide outside of Australia on 2 June. The single, “Apartment For Two”, is out 5 May. The Hard-Ons are Ray Ahn, Peter Black, Murray Ruse and new kid, You Am I vocalist and songwriter, Tim Rogers.
The new single, “Apartment For Two”, is a frenetic pop-punk blast; three delicious minutes of squealing guitars, pounding drums, pulverising bass, and sitting atop – like a semi-detached ring-pull – is Rogers’ intense ‘tude-laden vocals. A perfect slab of what constitutes The Hard-Ons, circa 2023. The song was co-written by Rogers and Black.
The video for “Apartment For Two” was produced and directed by Jonathan J. Sequeira at Living Eyes, and manages to pull off the unique feat of providing homage to both an obscure fictional US teenage musical group, Mulligan Stew, and the UK’s pioneering electronic musician and renowned face transplanter, Aphex Twin.
The album, ‘Ripper 23’, is The Hard-Ons through and through. Their 14th studio album, ‘Ripper 23’ is their second with Tim Rogers out front, but their first with Rogers as a fully integrated member, contributing to songwriting and arrangements. The difference is palpable, and the album will be an absolute treat to the ears of fans old, new and indifferent. The striking cover art and album title are inspired adaptations of the crass and outrageously sexist 1970s chart compilations unique to the Australian music marketplace (no, really, check them out!). But in the hands of The Hard-Ons, it’s really just a bit cheeky.
The band is embarking on a whistlestop May European tour, taking in Belgium, France, Spain, Italy and Germany – its first road haul since pre-pandemic times, and a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with fans around the globe who have been waiting to get their hands on new Hard-Ons for some time…
