Friday March 29th 2024

Fast Times – “Pioneers Of Nothing”

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Fast Times – “Pioneers Of Nothing”

 

Taking their cue from Mumford & Sons, Fast Times hopes to bring back the seventies with timeless, melodious pop rock. Though some modern influences still can be heard with some rap and dub-step…

Oh, No! The cat just fell in the blender! There are cat guts swirling across the kitchen’s ceiling, looking oddly just like a Jackson Pollack abstract painting.

Harkening back to the golden age of singer-songwriters like Gordon Lightfoot and Harry Chapin, Fast Times attempts to be as nutritional and tasty as fast food itself…

Oh, No! The kids just fell in the blender! There are kid guts swirling across the kitchen’s ceiling, looking oddly just like a Mark Rothko abstract painting.

In a world full of troublesome times and music, who’s aim it appears, is to be as unpleasant as possible, it is certainly enriching and rewarding to hear some fine, young men once again bring back the good, old melodies like The Carpenters…

Oh, No! Grandma just fell in the blender! There are grandma guts swirling across the kitchen’s ceiling, looking oddly like a Willem De Kooning’s abstract painting.

Fast Times attempts to combine the best of seventies pop rock, family mutilations and abstract expressionist painting. In this, I feel, they dramatically fail; instead they turn out an album of aggressive pop/punk colliding with passionate hardcore. This they accomplish with a tight, but powerfully gutsy rhythm section and melodic, gritty vocals along with slashing, sometimes melodic guitar.

This, of course, I find unacceptable and odious to my precious concerns.

“Butt Chug” starts with a chugging bass before the swirling, hurricane of a hardcore tune busts in. “I don’t understand why/ You can’t drink beer like a normal guy/ Put the bottle in your rear/ Tilt your ass and watch it disappear.” This is a song that would be worthy to be in the repertoire of Fear or Angry Samoans. Great high, tightrope walking guitar and excellent rhythm section executing- a killer song.

[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/06 Butt Chug.mp3|titles=Butt Chug]

With some tribal, pounding drums and then some jolting guitar and bass answering each other, “Waste of Time” takes its time getting to the gist of the song, namely, the part where the vocals come in. “I’ve scratched your back so many times/ When will you reciprocate with mine?/ A waste of time.” Is the only line of the song, sung once. But this minute song was not a waste of my time. It was much better than sex or making rice. Just a great and concise song.

[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/07 Waste of Time.mp3|titles=Waste of Time]

After a false start and a penalty of five yards, “Sideswiped” kicks off with the vocals in at the start along with a driving, pounding rhythm as a great melody soars above it. This is an intense, melodic song that sounds like a mix of Bad Religion and Husker Du. It has a wonderful guitar solo with naughty notes tossed in backed by some great bass and drums work. But what I wanna know- Is this a song about car accidents or intentional “accidents” in real life? Either way a great tune,

[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/08 Sideswiped.mp3|titles=Sideswiped]

With a melodic guitar line hooking up with the bass line at times, “You’re Gonna Fall,” is a galloping mad race out of the gates, driving you out of your mind, kind of spin. The verse propels along until an almost sinisterly, sweet chorus arrives with its impending doom. A bright, major key bridge pops in only to lead us back down the previous, foreboding corridor. Then there is a gloriously great instrumental part with rolling drums and the guitar screeching at the top of its neck leading back into the intro. Not sure what you’re gonna fall into but if it’s anything like this song it just might break your ability to feel bad ever again.

[audio:https://www.thrashnbang.com/wp-content/music/01 Youre Gonna Fall.mp3|titles=Youre Gonna Fall]

Okay, this is the last album I’m reviewing this year but it easily hopped into my top ten. And let’s forget about “best hardcore band from Cape Cod,” or best pop/punk hardcore band or whatever. Let’s just say Fast Times is one of the best bands we cover on TNB and leave it at that.

This is a great album full of great songs and great playing and if you need anything more than that well… I guess I could pull a rabbit out of my ass. If I could, I would- that would surely be a neat trick. But then he’d probably end up in the blender and another abstract expressionist painter would be blasphemed.

And that’s all well and good but this truly is an album of passion and guts and not the kind that go flying wildly across the ceiling with blender mishaps.

But, No. I take that back. That’s exactly what it is. ‘Cause there are funny songs on this album, no doubt about that. But then some, that hit me hard. One that even made me cry as I wish something I wrote, maybe my review, could do that to you. But fat chance of that happening.

But what can happen is you can get this album and enjoy…

Merry Fuckin’ Christmas!

http://fasttimespunk.bandcamp.com/album/pioneers-of-nothing

 

(Slimedog)

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