in my estimation<\/a> an overlooked gem), Keep Your Wig On<\/i> (2004) and Sweet Little Lies<\/i> (2009). The first three came out on Hollywood Records, the fourth on Rykodisc, with Sweet Little Lies<\/i> and now Step Into Light<\/i> both self-released, the latter crowdfunded on PledgeMusic.<\/p>\nWhatever you might choose to make of that trajectory, the fact is that Fastball has never sounded better than they do here. Step Into Light<\/i> is a terrifically appealing blast of tight, buoyant guitar-pop enriched by the group\u2019s characteristic intelligence and wit, making this album in every respect a worthy successor to the string of superb releases that preceded it. Zuniga and Scalzo remain a masterful dynamic duo of singer-songwriters, trading off lead vocals when they aren\u2019t sharing them, voices meshing as naturally and vibrantly as any of the greats. <\/p>\n
The key to Fastball\u2019s art, though, is Scalzo and Zuniga are superb craftsmen, constructing tight, consistently appealing tunes that are both highly approachable and lovably quirky. Hearing new Fastball music is like meeting an old friend again for the first time, knowing already how it\u2019s going to go: the joys and pains and deep, familiar, comfortable feeling of connection that lies just ahead.<\/p>\n
One thing\u2019s clear from the start: Shuffield, Zuniga and Scalzo may have added some grey and a few wrinkles but they have not lost a step musically; to the contrary, this album is as animated and upbeat as any they\u2019ve ever issued. Opener \u201cWe\u2019re On Our Way\u201d delivers rippling energy with a thrumming, driving rhythm punctuated by powerhouse fills from Shuffield, the verses adding feisty keyboard accents and harmonies, the trio reclaiming yet again the sense of urgent momentum behind many of their strongest tunes. <\/p>\n
\u201cBest Friend\u201d offers an appealing change of pace arrangement-wise, big and airy with some \u201980s flavoring in its precisely layered guitar lines, warm synths and supple, catchy melody. Then \u201cBehind The Sun\u201d changes things up yet again, a slight, rather Beatlesque acoustic number whose misanthropic narrator is feeling lonely and guilty about some undefined bad behavior (\u201cNo one knows me \/ No one knows what I\u2019ve done\u201d). <\/p>\n
Just when things could start to feel a little downbeat, first single \u201cI Will Never Let You Down\u201d comes along and breaks the mood wide open, a buoyant, endlessly catchy tune with a sunny, warbly guitar line running through it. Scalzo\u2019s earnest lead vocal nails a lyric where our narrator is trying to regain lost ground with a lover, basically saying \u201cI\u2019m only a man,\u201d so cut me some slack because at the end of the day I\u2019ll always be there for you. Is he for real or just talking a good game? Scalzo sings it like he means it while leaving the real answer delightfully ambiguous.<\/p>\n
The album gains momentum through its second act like a medicine ball rolling downhill. The hyperactive rhythm section returns for the surging \u201cLove Comes In Waves,\u201d achieving an almost punky thrash on its shouted choruses as our anxious nebbish of a narrator realizes he\u2019s in way over his head: \u201cOn again, off again \/ I finally said I gotta be free \/ But I know it\u2019s not the end of it \/ She worked some kind of voodoo on me.\u201d Still, the best part of the song is the way the vocalists (Zuniga on lead and Scalzo on harmonies here) give each other space and complement one another\u2019s every move.<\/p>\n
Next up, the title track offers a laidback, sunny West Coast vibe with thrumming organ, acoustic guitars and Zuniga and Scalzo again harmonizing wonderfully. \u201cJust Another Dream\u201d pops things back into fourth gear with great energy as Scalzo narrates a dream of \u201cClimbing up a tree \/ To make it to the moon.\u201d The fast, furious and suitably exotic instrumental \u201cTanzania\u201d follows, an unexpected twist with Zuniga and Shuffield\u2019s frenetic surf stylings offset by Scalzo\u2019s Twilight Zone<\/i> Hammond work. <\/p>\n
\u201cSecret Agent Love\u201d keeps the pedal to the floor, a surging rocker with a big, bounding beat and tons of retro flourishes and nods. It\u2019s as it ends at 2:47 that you realize there\u2019s only one song over three minutes here; these are tasty, bite-sized morsels that don\u2019t waste a moment and never overstay their welcome. \u201cHung Up\u201d offers all this and the sort of bouncy sass you associate with Fountains Of Wayne. <\/p>\n
If you were wondering if Step Into Light<\/i> would include one of the odd, off-kilter numbers Fastball often slips in, here it is in the form of the mysterious, hypnotic \u201cLillian Gish,\u201d about a \u201chalf-remembered dream\u201d of the actress that feels more like a nightmare: \u201cLoneliness, it can\u2019t get more lonely than this\u2026 I\u2019ve been betrayed but I sleep in the bed I\u2019ve made.\u201d Closer \u201cFrenchy And The Punk\u201d finishes things up in light-hearted fashion, a droll in-joke that finds the title pals \u201cwaxing nostalgic\u201d while musing that \u201cLife is hard, but then again, life is easy too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Step Into Light<\/i> is a welcome return from a band whose classicist craftsmanship never gets old; it\u2019s timeless, riff-centric power pop that sparkles with intelligence and artfulness even as it\u2019s begging your cranky knees to get up and dance.\u00a0 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":33163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[6028],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-44958","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-fastball","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/44958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=44958"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=44958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}