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We Are Hard Left

by Hard Left

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    High quality vinyl album mastered at 45 rpm by Lucky Lacquers and pressed on trusty black vinyl at RTI. With lyric insert and sticker.

    Includes unlimited streaming of We Are Hard Left via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      $12 USD or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    High quality vinyl album mastered at 45 rpm by Lucky Lacquers and pressed on trusty black vinyl at RTI. With lyric insert, sticker and poster. NOTE: this bundle also includes the "All Power To The Imagination!" iron-on patch.

    Includes unlimited streaming of We Are Hard Left via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      $14.25 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Budget and eco-friendly CD edition in fold-out recycled paper sleeve with full lyrics. Delightfully retro.

    Includes unlimited streaming of We Are Hard Left via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      $6 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. Paying supporters also get unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app.
    Purchasable with gift card

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1.
New Year 02:34
Boy, did you hear? There’s nothing to fear This ship is ours to steer It’s only new year Girl, did you hear? There’s nothing to fear The news has gone away The shops are all closed, today No more being scared,
and no more acting tough. no more dreams of servants, no more being bluffed Put away your cell phone You’ll never walk alone Everything’s OK New year starts today 
There’s nothing to lose Nothing in your way Give up false needs You don’t need them anyway The goals you were sold Glitter like fools gold There’s nothing to fear It’s just new year There’s nothing to lose Nothing in the way Give back their dreams Cause they’re nightmares anyway The world that you know - Was a long time ago There’s nothing to fear - It’s just new year
2.
Danger’s calling, rebels don’t flinch Shoulder to shoulder, we’re in the clinch Hard Left rules OK, rules OK Hard Left rebels, we’ve got the juice Hard Left army, we’re on the loose Hard Left rules OK, rules OK Forward we’ll always go Comrades, it’s this we know today Stand up comrades, throw off the yoke Hard Left rebels, we go for broke Hard Left rules OK, rules OK Hard Left rebels rule… we’re nobody’s fools Hard Left … rules … OK
3.
Chant No. 1 00:37
4.
Hand In Hand 02:36
Divided we fall, united we stand Shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand We’re all Hard Left, united we win Hard Left, we’re coming back again 
We’re marching on castles of sand We’re Robin Hood’s band, how we’re taking a stand Hand in hand Read up comrades, analyze the past Future perfect is coming fast Facing the facts, we ain’t got no choice We’re Hard Left, we’re the people’s voice Hard Left - comrade give me your hand Hard Left - comrade let’s make a plan Hard Left - you know they made us this way Hard Left - future perfect today Hand in hand Hand in hand Hand in hand Hand in hand
5.
What became of Disneyland? No future in tomorrowland Better living through... technology They stole the surplus from you and me 
It's a future perfect - future! It's a future perfect - future! It's a future perfect - future! It's a future perfect - future! Don't you know everyday will be lighter? Don't you know all our days will be brighter? It's a future perfect - future! It's a future perfect - future! We want a future perfect - future! We want a future perfect - future! From our ability, to our needs From our ability, to our needs From our ability, to our needs From our ability, to our needs
6.
Stay True 01:07
Liberty’s hero He does it all alone Hand don’t touch a tool But he claims it for his own 
But there’s nothing we can’t do If we stay true On your private island Utopia at last No one there to build it And the water’s rising fast 
But there’s nothing we can’t do If we stay true
7.
8.
Making do with what we didn’t choose We can never lose Now we’re international What’s to be done, what’s there to do? It’s all up to me It’s all up to you Cause we are everywhere We’re kicking it off, we’re kicking it off Cause we don’t have a care We’re kicking it off, we’re kicking it off Cause we’re just ordinary We’re kicking it off Comrade do you hear the sound? We’re kicking it down to the ground Cause we are everywhere We’re kicking it off, we’re kicking it off Cause we don’t have a care We’re kicking it off, we’re kicking it off Cause we’re extraordinary We’re kicking it off
9.
Safety 02:14
Flag pin, dollars and a smart salute Hand on your heart while they grab the loot Don’t start shit, don’t even move Comrade, you’ve got something to prove 
Safety! You’ve got more than you can use Safety! Don’t be happy to choose Don’t talk back or you’re down on a list Accidental death of an anarchist Force your smile and clench your fist Your freedom, comrades, depends on this 
Safety! You’ve got more than you can use Safety! They’ll be happy to choose for you 
Comrade, you’ve got something to prove 
Comrade, you’ve got something to prove 
Comrade, you’ve got something to prove 
Comrade, you’ve got something to prove
10.
Red Flag 02:20
Organize the general strike Red flag over Oakland Speculators out! This is where we live This is where we live There is such a thing as society Society is you and me It's not measured in profit and loss My profit is not your loss! Don't run, 'til the victory's won What you want done We gotta make it happen Don't pretend you've got nothing to do There are dreams for you Make them true
11.
Chant No. 2 00:27
12.
Holiday 02:06
It’s a holiday It’s another day off it’s a gift of time For when you fall behind It’s a holiday All mod cons we’ve got a lot They didn’t give it to us It’s what we fought for and got 
No one knows, we don’t count the cost They can’t find us We were never lost No one knows, we don’t count the cost They can’t find us We were never lost
13.
Imagination 02:48
Don’t listen to the wise men You might as well turn them off Everybody knows that money talks Everybody knows that the radio lies 
But do something you used to die to You can do it if you try to See a new way See the new day Underneath the paving stones Imagination has a home See a new way Greet the new day No more force can stop us No more lies These dreams of gold These dreams were already old All power to, the imagination All power to, the imagination All power to, the imagination Imagination, imagination…
14.

about

"We Are Hard Left" is the debut album from Hard Left. Brought together by the music, held together by the outrage -- Hard Left are a hard-mod/punk band borne out of a desire to explore leftist political ideas and marry them to rabble-rousing music worthy of the worldwide struggle against capital. Far from a dry exercise in doctrinaire thought, Hard Left's songs are great punk first and foremost, and ripping good fun.

The band members have been involved with punk and DIY music for nearly a century combined, including time in bands like Boyracer, Jüke, Whorl, Lunchbox and Black Tambourine, and operating the respected labels 555, Emotional Response and Slumberland Records. Initial Hard Left recording sessions in Spring 2014 led to the release of two limited edition lathe-cut singles, the Situationist-inspired "What's That Sound?" and the tough-as-nails "Safety." The band set to writing and in August 2014 gathered in the desert of Flagstaff, AZ to record. The results were two more singles ("Skinheads Home For Christmas" and a split 7" with Bad Daddies, both released in December 2014), and now this album.

"We Are Hard Left" is a concise and explosive punk record, packed with anthems of resistance and calls to action. These are crucial times that we live in, and Hard Left seek to inspire and invigorate. The opener "New Year" sets out the band's stall in fine fashion, urging listeners to "give up false needs" and embrace new beginnings. They follow with the blasting "Hard Left Rules OK," a call to arms if ever there was one. The album is tightly edited, each song on the heels of the previous one, exemplifying the group's eagerness to broadcast their message and energize their fans.

To that end, rousing chants and noisy interludes are interspersed throughout, cheeky but pointed references to their mod forebears and street-level terrace "politics." The message is always positive, the underlying mood is of hopefulness. "Hand In Hand" is an exhilarating call for solidarity and collective action, while "Future Perfect" imagines a world where the people were the true beneficiaries of the surplus created by progress, the perfect future we were all promised during the golden age of capitalism. Previous singles "Safety" and "Stay True" appear in re-recorded form, hard as nails and fitting in perfectly.

From the super-tough "Kicking If Off" to the Occupy-inspired "Red Flag" and the supremely uplifting (and also Situationist-inspired) closer "Imagination," this is a record that hits hard, crammed with guitars that soar and rage, group chants and raw-throated vocals. It's anthemic in the best way -- inspiring but never heavy-handed, a worthy successor to records by bands like The Clash, Stiff Little Fingers, Sex Pistols and The Dils. Call it "utopian Oi" if you will, or "hard mod" or just plain punk, but don't miss out on this passionate, thrilling record.

credits

released May 12, 2015

Hard Left are:
Mike: exhortations
Donna: bass, vocals
Tim: guitar, vocals
Stewart: drums, vocals

Recorded August 2014 at Emotional Response, Flagstaff, AZ.

This is Future Perfect Records 003.

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Hard Left Oakland, California

Hard Left is a political punk band inspired by liberatory leftist movements of the past and present. Our music is a soundtrack for direct action, an invitation to critical thought and a challenge to complacency. We privilege the "we" over the "I" and argue for the centrality of class struggle in our collective battle against neoliberalism, authoritarianism and imperialism. ... more

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