Fastball came back in 2017? Why didn't anyone tell me? Truth is I know barely anything about them except that "The Way" and "Out Of My Head" are seminal singles for me. My music app agrees. If Ben/JackFM decide to play either, a "Desperado" moment is near certain. When Sam brought to my attention a pop song in late 2016 sampling "OOMH," it brought forth a deep uneasiness.
So, anyway, it's curious to start The Help Machine and hear what is certainly Fastball, but with a patina of age. The shiny border of production is more muted, and instead they are filling out the center with more texture and guitar riffs. It seems an apt evolution. In the first few tracks, we're talking about false friends, white collar life/crime, and throwing stones from glass houses. These themes have a different flavor than, say, a couple walking bittersweetly towards the end of their lives.
"All Gone Fuzzy" is more of the pop-rock I was expecting and is a fun jammy tune. "The Girl You Pretended To Be," "Doesn't It Make You Feel Small" also feel very Fastball, the mix of high tempo vocals and backing guitar grooves they so enjoy.
But and also there is title track "The Help Machine," which even after n-listens has a Death Cab-ish vibe, between the vocals and the replacement of groove and riff with trill and gliss. But it too has a charm that I've come to enjoy after n-listens, and provides an interesting mid-point for the album.
So, anyway, all's to say this album is certainly Fastball with also a curious mix of songs on it. There are no power singles that I'll be thinking about for 20+ years, but that's okay, maybe that doesn't exist anywhere anymore. However, there are also no real low spots, and the variety precludes boredom, making it all pretty good. Fastball has engendered enough good will that my mind will always round up their grade to the next whole letter.
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