Stephen Malkmus, Matt Sweeney, Jim White and Emmett Kelly have confirmed that their new band is called the Hard Quartet. For now, that’s about the only information available for the mysterious group, which has been teasing its existence on social media for the past week.
Malkmus and Sweeney spent the ’90s as labelmates on Matador Records with their respective bands Pavement and Chavez, establishing themselves as two of the more compelling frontmen in indie rock. Sweeney also guested on Malkmus’ most recent solo album, Traditional Techniques, which was released in 2020.
White is best known for his work on drums in the Dirty Three, which just released their first album in 12 years. Meanwhile, Kelly previously played with White in the Double and is a longtime collaborator of Ty Segall.
The new band emerges just as Pavement is winding down a two-year reunion tour in September with shows at Bumbershoot in Seattle and Riot Fest in Chicago.
