‘We are pretty awesome’: Meet indie rock’s new supergroup

It’s the night of the US presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

Matt Sweeney – best known for New York math-rock band Chavez and as a Zelig-like guitarist who has played with artists including Billy Corgan, Dixie Chicks, Guided By Voices, Iggy Pop, Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond – is sitting in his apartment in Manhattan’s East Village, chrome-domed, moustachioed and wearing a tank-top and silver necklace.

Stephen Malkmus of ’90s indie rock gods Pavement is walking the streets of his newly adopted hometown of Chicago, his greying hair sprouting from underneath a trucker cap, making his way to the house of some friends, “where I guess we’ll hang out to watch the debate on TV because we want to torture ourselves”.

The two have joined me on Zoom, not to talk about the divisive politics of their country, but the coming together of a supergroup of sorts.

A supergroup is born: “Everybody was excited, saying ‘Let’s do this! Let’s f---ing do this!’”Credit: Malcolm Donaldson

Until the surprise announcement of a debut single in late July, for the best part of 18 months they managed to keep under wraps the existence of the Hard Quartet, a band they formed with multi-instrumentalist Emmett Kelly (the Cairo Gang, Will Oldham, Ty Segall) and drummer Jim White (Dirty Three, Xylouris White, the Double).

So, what’s the origin story?

“The origins go back to the birth of the universe in a certain way,” says Malkmus. “But in a more practical way, I mean that Matt and I have known each other for a long, long time. When I invited him to jam on a record called Traditional Techniques (from 2020), it was really fun, and there was some banter about ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we got Jim White to play drums with us on something?’ And Matt was like, ‘And what about my friend Emmett? He’s like a master of being in a band, not only his playing, but he’s a good hang.’”

“I texted Jim and Emmett from the studio that day,” Sweeney chimes in. “And right away they both said, ‘Cool. Let’s do it.’”

Then the pandemic happened, the world went into lockdown and everything got put on hold. The quartet finally got together for the first time in May last year at Strange Weather, a studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that has been used by Bob Dylan, Iggy Pop, D’Angelo, the War On Drugs, Ghostface Killah and Danny Elfman, among many others.

The studio was closing down and had a small window of unbooked time left before calling it quits. And in walked a brand-new band consisting of four not-so-new musicians. All of them were surprised by what happened from day one, and within a week, they had virtually all the songs that would make up their self-titled debut album.

“From the very first song, we just rehearsed it and it already sounded like it could be a record,” says Malkmus. “You just know it when you hear it.”

“The next day the three guys hit me with texts,” says Sweeney. “Everybody was excited, saying ‘Let’s do this! Let’s f---ing do this!’ It was sparky right away.”

“Right away,” agrees Malkmus. “The guitar interplay was just intuitive. Sometimes I felt like an observer, just watching these guys play. Emmett is kind of a sonic guru. And Jim is f---ing hilarious and present. I just love watching him exist.”

As the two of them talk animatedly about the Hard Quartet, their enthusiasm is obvious. It seems not so much a vanity project or side hustle as a new beginning. In fact, Sweeney, 55, and Malkmus, 58, sound like teenagers discussing their first band.

“That’s cool to hear,” says Malkmus. “But that’s how it’s supposed to be, right? I mean, that’s how you want it to be. That’s what music is. Participating and finding your place.”

“Exactly,” says Sweeney. “When you’re playing music together and it’s really working, it’s like you’re chasing something that’s just between you and the other people, and somebody serves up a ball and you hit it back. I think we’re all pretty good at being open and enjoying the space between each of us.”

Malkmus is probably the best-known name in the line-up, but he and Sweeney are at pains to point out it’s a leaderless group. The three singles released so far have each had a lead vocal from Malkmus (Earth Hater), Sweeney (Rio’s Song) and Kelly (Our Hometown Boy).

Possibly the hardest thing about forming any new band is finding a name. There were a number of contenders on the table, including Glass Sarcophagus, Iron Chad and Divorce Doulas. As soon as they landed on the Hard Quartet, Sweeney made it the name of their group text so it would stick.

“I’m glad we have the best name ever,” says Malkmus, a slight smile creeping across his face. “There’s a positive strut to it. And we are pretty awesome. Humble, but awesome.”

They’ve also had fun with the music videos. Earth Hater is a claymation clip set on the beach with an anti-littering public service announcement vibe. For Rio’s Song, which Sweeney wrote about his late friend, the actor Rio Hackford – son of film director Taylor Hackford, and stepson of Helen Mirren – they decided to recreate the video for the Rolling Stones’ 1981 single Waiting on a Friend. That clip famously had Mick Jagger waiting to meet Keith Richards on the front stoop of the building on St Mark’s Place in the East Village that was used on the cover of the Led Zeppelin album Physical Graffiti.

“I actually lived in that building until about four years ago,” says Sweeney. “My apartment was the one where the ‘P’ is on the Zeppelin album cover.”

The video also features cameos from friends, including Pavement bass player Mark Ibold as the bartender at East Village drinking hole International Bar, where the band ends up playing at the end of the clip.

“And I got to be Keith Richards,” says Malkmus. “So, of course, I was going to say yes to this idea because I always wanted to be Keith Richards.”

The Hard Quartet are yet to step onto a stage together. Before they tour Australia in January, they’ll play their first three shows in Los Angeles, New York and London in October. Despite their combined experience as musicians, do they still get nervous?

“I’m saving my nerves for the week before we rehearse, but I’m more excited than nervous,” says Malkmus.

“I always have nerves,” says Sweeney. “But that means I’m psyched. And it’s good I’m nervous, because it shows I care about this a lot.”

The Hard Quartet is out now. The band will perform at Brisbane’s Princess Theatre on January 17; Sydney’s Metro Theatre on January 18; Fremantle’s Arts Centre on January 21; Adelaide’s The Gov on January 23; Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal on January 24; and the Northcote Theatre on January 25.

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