Stars of CCTV

There is no denying Hard-Fi’s first single, “Cash Machine”: Vibrant guitars, a haunting melodica and a loping reggae backbeat carve out a sumptuous, soulful groove that imagines Joe Strummer reincarnated in cartoon form to front Gorillaz. Everything else on the British band’s much-hyped debut tries desperately to replicate the “Cash Machine” magic and inevitably fails, but there are enough hints of promise to at least keep us tuned in.