Buzz band Hard-Fi channels social roots

The second song played by English buzz band Hard-Fi at the Troubadour on Wednesday was titled “Gotta Reason” -- and that’s what sets this quartet apart from most of its contemporaries. It’s got a reason behind its music, or at least makes a convincing presentation. And though it didn’t exactly rate as a life-changing event, by the end of the hourlong set there was a solid sense of a band that wants to do more with its talents than just make hit records.

Its already accomplished hits at home, where the debut album “Stars of CCTV” (due for release here on March 14), reached No. 1 last month and scored the group two key Brit Award nominations. But unlike many recent British (and U.S.) rockers that look back to New Order or Duran Duran, Hard-Fi strongly echoes the Clash and the Specials, not just in the rock-dub sounds but in social roots and drive.

Singer-songwriter Richard Archer channeled the bleak suburban decay of the band’s home in Staines, just west of London, into such personalized stories as “Cash Machine,” about being broke with a pregnant girlfriend. In that regard, Hard-Fi rivals minimalist Brit-hop slacker the Streets, but Wednesday also showed the earnest, rock-based determination Franz Ferdinand flashed when it made its L.A. debut on the same stage two years ago.

With Steve Kemp’s skull-rattling kick drum and Kai Stephens’ thunderous bass anchoring the sound and Ross Phillips’ guitar providing color, Archer prowled with dark intensity, spinning his tales with lived-in conviction and adding both guitar and melodica. He’s not Joe Strummer, and there was a missing sense of rebellious threat. But the spirit was there. And maybe Clash-style call for revolution wouldn’t ring true today. Or perhaps Hard-Fi is just working up to its own brand of revolution.