I first heard this record, in unmastered form, last July. It was on at my girlfriend’s birthday when the guys in Short Warning brought round a CD-R version of it because they couldn’t stop listening. It ended up in the stereo for several hours – funnily enough because it got stuck in the CD player and we couldn’t get it out. Eventually we did remove it and we kept the copy, making it the anthem of last summer. That was until late August when I met Fastlane singer Ben in a queue for the Punktastic Bash and he gave me my own copy. Then that version became stuck in my CD player – although this time the disc wasn’t jammed in at all, I just couldn’t stop listening to it. Fast forward more than six months and ‘New Start’ has now been released and is finally getting the credit it was always bound to receive. Every time I try and write something positive about this band I end up babbling and coming across like a giddy schoolgirl at a Westlife concert. This album is nothing short of amazing – I’d go as far as saying this is quite possibly my favourite record ever put out by a British band. Now that’s high praise…
From start to finish this is nothing short of amazing. It’s not groundbreaking – you could argue the likes of New Found Glory and, to an extent Fallout Boy – have been doing this kind of thing for years. But Fastlane seem to attack each song with energy, enthusiasm and passion. If they were American they’d already be on the front cover of all the magazines – this record is choc-full of catchy hooks, vocal harmonies and more melodies than you could ever begin to imagine. Fastlane mix catchy pop-punk with a harsher, more metallic sound and the results speak for themselves. ‘Virus’ and ‘Eyes Closed’ are pop-punk perfection, while the vocal harmonies on ‘Summer Falls’ stick out a country mile.
Everything about this record excels far and above nearly every band in this country. If ‘Dreaming’ doesn’t have you singing along like an escaped mental patient, then ‘Elevator’ will burrow under your skin, make its way into your bloodstream and infect you until you submit. Unlike most bands of this ilk who seem to concentrate on two or three killer ‘radio friendly’ songs and fill the rest of the album with b-sides, every track on ‘New Start’ is your new favourite song. Although Ben’s vocals are spot-on throughout, the guitar work really adds an edge and sets Fastlane out from many other bands that peddle pop-punk. Guitar solos are thrown out at will and there’s a real metallic edge at times, making the songs sound thick and crunchy – ‘Forget What We Were’ and the closing ‘When It’s Over’ sound brilliant because the guitars don’t stick to any kind of rigid formula.
Records that get 5 stars have to stand the test of time. They have to be CDs that sound fresh as a daisy months and months down the line. ‘New Start’ is proof that this record is easily worthy of full marks – six months on and I’m still finding new and exciting parts to this album and every time I see them live it makes me realise how priviliged I am to discover new bands. I loved Fastlane so much I tried to sign them – I’ve always had every faith these guys would do themselves proud and this record is the proof of the pudding. The fact that Fastlane are British makes this even sweeter – get out and buy a copy now before they get really big…
www.fastlanerock.com
Sucka Punch
Paul