That's the thing about indie rock. It just feels wrong with bands that spend time more time on their hair than on other music. Now, the parent of indie rock is called, not surprisingly, rock and done right it can prove a rather satisfying experience. So, do Kleveland do it right with their album "Harder"?
Let's look at the evidence. If you want a musical cuddle then you're going to be looking elsewhere. This is beer drinking, bar brawl starting music. Right from the start, vocalist Stephanie Smith sings the songs of Friday night blue collar socialisation. Maybe that's it. There's a twist to it all. There's an honesty to this band's performance, of course, and the title track "Harder", for example, doesn't shy away from the realities of relationships but having all the songs written by a woman turns things on its head without a doubt. "Sloppy Seconds" takes that whole losing in love thing and throws it back it at us in the kind of way that only country songs usually do. Of course, none of this would matter if the band couldn't cut the mustard and this band prove they can rock out with the best of them with the roof raising "Golden Gloves". Oddly enough, they leave the weakest song - the sub-Nirvana "It's Over" - until last. Given the quality of the rest of the album, it's easy to forgive them.
Clichés are difficult things to avoid for bands, especially rock bands. Taking rock clichés and twisting them into something fresh isn't easy. Kleveland have managed it with some rather fine songs and if you don't get the urge to play some air guitar to this album then, quite frankly, you should check if you still actually have a pulse.