{"id":328741,"date":"2026-03-04T17:06:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T17:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/328741\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T17:06:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T17:06:08","slug":"hard-fi-announce-new-album-sweating-someone-elses-fever-and-take-aim-at-music-industry-on-single-they-aint-your-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/328741\/","title":{"rendered":"Hard-Fi announce new album ‘Sweating Someone Else\u2019s Fever’ and take aim at music industry on single \u2018They Ain\u2019t Your Friends\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hard-Fi<\/a> are back with a brand new album called \u2018Sweating Someone Else\u2019s Fever\u2019 \u2013 check out the fiery lead single \u2018They Ain\u2019t Your Friends\u2019 below.<\/p>\n

The news of the new album was announced today (Wednesday March 4), and will mark the first new record from the indie giants in 15 years.<\/p>\n

It was written and recorded throughout 2025 and produced by frontman Richard Archer alongside longtime collaborator Wolsey White, and is set for release on June 19 via V2. Pre-order it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The album is named after an El Salvador saying about not fighting other people\u2019s ego-based battles and, like the title suggests, sees the band back together, harnessing the joy of making music again, and letting go of external pressure.<\/p>\n

Lyrically, it will feature sharp reflections of the world around us, and showcase a social commentary alongside a new outlook, fresh musical avenues, and an underlying sense of freedom.<\/p>\n

The first taster of the record arrives today in the form of \u2018They Ain\u2019t Your Friends\u2019 \u2013 which takes aim at the fake allegiances of the online world and the hypocrisies of the modern music industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the beginning you could get out there and it was a meritocracy, whereas now it\u2019s basically back to patronage where you have to suck up to the guy who\u2019ll give you some money to write a waltz for his ball,\u201d Archer said, adding that it was born by stitching two older demos together with the help of his 10-year-old son.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were in different tempos so a lot sounded like chaos, but every now and then it would be really cool,\u201d the frontman added. \u201cWe did it all properly and suddenly it sounded really fresh. Now he\u2019s going, \u2018So where\u2019s my cut?!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The album follows the band reuniting after the lockdown<\/a>, and going on to play a comeback show at London\u2019s O2 Forum Kentish Town<\/a>, which sold out in minutes. Since then, they have also released the EP \u2018Don\u2019t Go Making Plans\u2019 in 2024.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere on the new record, collaborations come from the likes of UK-based Colombian rapper Mike Kalle and Olivier Award-nominated singer Krysten Cummings.<\/p>\n

Hard-Fi have also shared details of three huge headline shows, taking place in the UK later this year.<\/p>\n

These all take place in December, and include stops at the O2 Academy Brixton in London, the O2 Institute in Birmingham, and the O2 Ritz in Manchester.<\/p>\n

Before then, the band will play at festivals including Stockton Calling, Y Not<\/a>, Kendal Calling and more over the summer. Visit here for tickets<\/a> and more information.<\/p>\n

Hard-Fi\u2019s 2026 UK headline shows are:<\/p>\n

DECEMBER\u2028
3 \u2013 London, O2 Academy Brixton
4 \u2013 O2 Institute Birmingham
5 \u2013 O2 Ritz Manchester<\/p>\n

At their peak, the Staines indie rockers sold over a million copies of 2005 debut \u2018Stars Of CCTV<\/a>\u2019 and were nominated for the Mercury Prize<\/a>, reportedly missing out by just one panel vote to ANOHNI\u2019s \u2018I Am a Bird Now\u2019. They also equalled the record held by Bob Dylan<\/a>, The Prodigy<\/a>, The Clash<\/a> and Massive Attack<\/a> by playing five sold-out nights at Brixton Academy in 2006.<\/p>\n

\"Hard-FiHard-Fi 2026 UK tour poster. CREDIT: Press<\/p>\n

In 2023, they looked back at their huge accomplishments in an interview with NME<\/a>, and recalled what it was like to be in the \u201800s indie scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were lucky in some ways because there were a lot of new British bands coming along and there was an ear for it,\u201d they said. \u201cPeople wanted to hear about it, they wanted to listen. I always had quite a lot of impostor syndrome but looking back at it now, it was really good and I should have enjoyed the moment a little bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re into indie music, it was a great time \u2013 there were so many good bands about, you could go and see us, Futureheads<\/a>, Kaiser Chiefs<\/a>, Kasabian<\/a>, all in one week, all touring,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, things are very different now. I know how difficult it is to be a new band or a new act. It should be really great with all the things open to you, but it\u2019s just made it so much harder to be heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, Hard-Fi announced a deluxe reissue of their \u2018Stars Of CCTV\u2019 album<\/a> to celebrate the 20th anniversary, and went on to launch a special-edition shirt with Brentford FC to mark the milestone.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hard-Fi are back with a brand new album called \u2018Sweating Someone Else\u2019s Fever\u2019 \u2013 check out the fiery…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328742,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[93,61,636,60,15533,278],"class_list":["post-328741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-indie","tag-ireland","tag-live-music-news","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/328742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}