Hard Ticket – What Odds, Cover art by Amery Sandford

We’re absolutely jazzed to premiere the first track off of the next Secret East Records release. To prove that great things come in twos, the second in our cassette series will also mark the much anticipated second album from the loveably brash St. John’s rock n’ rollers Hard Ticket. Following up their 2016 debut release Tuff Cookie, Hard Ticket are back with 10 songs that dip their feet deeper into the melting pot of gritty power pop, thumping garage rock, and a glistening dose of incantation-like hooks and psychedelic buzz.

Track Premiere – “Tongue” by Hard Ticket (Secret East Records, 2017)

What Odds was recorded in the fall of 2016 with Jake Nicoll, and the album finally arrives on cassette via Secret East Records on April 15th.

As sonically stated with the premiere single “Tongue“, Hard Ticket have built upon their ability to use stripped down riffs to spin near lyrical mantras that can infectiously pull you beneath all surface noise and into the guts of a pop song. It is like punk rock spell casting with a strong pop sensibility. While What Odds features an organic shift in approach, Hard Ticket retain the raw, loose and impetuous feel good vibe that they established on their debut album Tuff Cookie.

“We all can agree this album is different from the last,” says guitarist/vocalist Mitch Dyke. “I’d like to think it’s a natural progression.”

Compared to Tuff Cookie, Bassist/Vocalist Nicole Squires has taken up an equal vocal presence in the new Hard Ticket material. Squires’ and Dyke’s unison delivery perfectly melds into what has become the collective voice at the helm of Hard Ticket.

“We sing together on almost every song,” says Dyke. ” [I] Wouldn’t have it any other way. Maybe next time we might do more back and forth.”

Within the year since the release of their debut album, Squires says Hard Ticket have “come into our sound a lot more”, and describes the material on What Odds as “a little faster and a little angrier”.

Embracing the slight tilt in tone, Hard Ticket effectively captured a companion aesthetic with the striking album art by Amery Sandford.

While Hard Ticket’s latest efforts may show a more aggressive edge, the unapologetic nature of their music still carries an inclusive message.