San Jose’s Hard Girls’ features members of a slew of other California punk bands (Shinobu, Pteradon, The Bruce Lee Band, etc.) but it wasn’t until it paired itself with former Operation Ivy/Common Rider vocalist Jesse Michaels under the moniker Classics Of Love that Hard Girls’ prowess became appreciated. Where Classics Of Love tracks serve as a fitting update to the hardcore-tinged side of Operation Ivy, Hard Girls’ solo material puts the emphasis on nervous energy and playful enthusiasm. On June 24 Asian Man Records will release the band’s sophomore full-length, A Thousand Surfaces, and it serves as a huge step forward for the trio. The A.V. Club is premiering “996 Tears,” a song from A Thousand Surfaces that showcases vocalist-guitarist Mike Huguenor at his very best, proving that he can still channel all the pop-punk hooks of Shinobu while effortlessly pairing them with staccato guitar strikes of post-punk.
Listen to “996 Tears” below. Hard Girls will be supporting Andrew Jackson Jihad on the second half of its summer tour in support of Christmas Island.