Pour some "Gasoline" on the fire

I finally got a hold of a copy of The Hard Lessons' 2005 full-length CD "Gasoline." For the longest time, their website said it was sold out and I had no idea where to get it from seeing as they are not really sold in stores.

Those of you who are new to this blog may not have read my previous rave about them and how awesome they are. Long story short: The Hard Lessons are a trio from Detroit, Michigan. I went to their show in Queens earlier this summer having never heard of them before and they blew me away. They are very talented and very independent. And expect to hear more about them again soon, as they are playing at Pianos a week from today (September 19th) and I fully intend on going. You should go too. They put on an awesome show.

“Gasoline” starts out with Feel Alright, a track that is very indicative of their style. It’s a really great, upbeat rock song with a lot of little in sync licks and phrases. The next track, Milk and Sugar, is one of my favorites of all of their songs and definitely my favorite on this album. I love the harmonies and how it manages to still be a pretty song even though it is also a relatively hard rock song. Track 3, That Other Girl is another one I really like, but it is distinctly more country-sounding than I remember it being when they performed it. In fact, a lot of their songs (particularly most of the songs starting from track 5 on) have a bit of a country twang feel to them. This came as quite a surprise to me because I don't remember them sounding at all country when I saw them perform and none of the songs on their EP "Wise Up!" or myspace have that slight twang either.

Not that I don't like the album. I definitely still really enjoy the album. I was just a little surprised. However, seeing as it is their older album, I would guess they have departed from this country sound a bit and I think I'm glad they did. But regardless, the album still rocks, they still rock, and I still want to be Korin "KoKo" Cox (I think that's the girl's name anyway...). She has such a great voice, and even though I don't think these recordings really do it justice, you can kind of get a taste for it in tracks 9 (How It Is With Me) and 11 (Love Gone Cold). Interestingly, my friend Laura is going to re-record some of the songs on this album for/with them and try to fix them so that you can actually tell how amazing they are. There is definitely such a thing as underproduced, and though I know some people like that kind of sound, I would rather be able to hear what an awesome singer KoKo is.

I am also kind of annoyed that my two favorite songs of their's (See and Be Scene, and Don't Shake My Tree) have yet to actually be released on anything but their myspace. I am really in love with those two song and the fact that I can't get them anywhere makes me sad. What's with that guys? Your fans want to be able to listen to your music in other formats besides via myspace!

Feel Alright [mp3]
Milk and Sugar [mp3]
That Other Girl [mp3]

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