Hard-Fi

Punk-inspired English indie rock quintet Hard-Fi formed in 2002. Featuring a brash mix of Dexys Midnight Runners melodies, Franz Ferdinand hooks, and the theatrics of the Dead 60s, the band hit the U.K. charts in 2005 with singles such as "Cash Machine," "Tied Up Too Tight," and "Hard to Beat," even earning a Mercury Music Prize nomination for 2006's Stars of CCTV. It was released in the U.S. in March, and although it didn't make quite as big a splash stateside, it still set up high expectations for Hard-Fi's next record, Once Upon a Time in the West, which came out in September of 2007. ~ MacKenzie Wilson