Hardvark - Memory Barge

In the mail a couple days ago I received the album Memory Barge from a band called Hardvark. I’d been eagerly anticipating this record ever since a reader had suggested it to me and at the same time learning that the band was originally from Champagne, Illinois, which is also considered home to past favorites like Hum. So, to say that I was excited upon learning this is probably an understatement. My geeky fan boy love for that band always gets the best of me.

Thankfully, that nerdy obsession didn’t steer me wrong with this purchase. Not that it could really being all of a dollar that I laid down for it. Regardless, the album is a steal for that price. Sadly, Memory Barge stands as the bands only album. It was originally released on Cargo Records, but was later re-released when the band signed to Geffen. However when the hammer dropped from the major labels on grunge/alternative in general, it spelled the end for Hardvark and for many other bands as well.

After having the chance to listen to this album a few times now, it comes off as pretty impressive. Naturally it sounds a lot like indie rock during that time, but its most redeeming quality lies in Randy Towner’s guitar work. The sound he achieves is pretty unnatural and often times sounds a little warped, which gives it a bit more flavor. Obviously this didn’t help Hardvark in the long run or achieve the sort of success that Geffen was looking for, but when listening to it, how could have anyone expected it too? It definitely wasn’t accessible enough and regardless of whether it contained well written music, with those circumstances the album was pretty much destined to fade away. Music like this has its audience though and thankfully in this day and age with blogs, file sharing, and whatnot…people will find it and appreciate it the way it deserves to be and keep it from being banished to the bottom of cut out bins for eternity.

Hardvark – Fawn [MP3]
Hardvark – Logan [MP3]
Hardvark – Ropes Tricks Blues [MP3]

An interesting thing I realized about Hardvark while trying to dig up as much information on them as possible, which is pretty much none, is that Bob Rising played drums for the band. For those that don’t know Rising, he also played drums with The Poster Children and Lustre King. He also played drums for Seam on my favorite album they ever released and one of my favorite albums of all time, The Problem with Me.

For those interested, Memory Barge can be had for a penny and shipping on Amazon. That’s a pretty good deal right?

EDIT: Big thanks to Billy for sending me links to a few more items by Hardvark. You can head on over to Parasol Records to find a couple 7 inches and a compilation that the band appeared on. Enjoy!