Wow, how did this manage to slip through the radar? Birmingham lads fast reaction have never caught my eye (or maybe ear?) before, and I wonder why. From the looks of their website they’ve been kicking around for a few years now, and usually that’s enough time for something substantial to develop in songwriting and playing ability. And it seems like they might have it. The 3 songs dropping through my letterbox hit the spot. They’re summer, they’re pop-punk in it’s sugary sweet form, and they’re polished, neat, and tight. Seems a winner so far?
However, I’m yet to receive a flawless CD from punktastic towers, and this is no exception. I can imagine the voice would grate a little for some people, but I can hear hints of blink182 (without the whine!) coming through, and that alone will make this band popular indeed you would imagine. That is if they can kick if off in a live performance, which I’m yet to see myself, but I’ve got my hopes up.
All the tracks are good, but standout track “I’ll never walk away†has got some very clever sections in it. The quickfire verses hold together a song which otherwise has a bit of drag in it (livened up by cheery guitar mind you) and the second track “Hold On†reeks of allister. But it’s a very comfortable odour, of the summer sun and all the happiness that goes along with it.
So, whilst fast reaction are just “pop-punkâ€, it might well be the perfect accompaniment to your 2005 summer. If they get a full album recorded, I’d be very surprised if it wasn’t snapped up by some label interest. If you can, check their myspace page www.myspace.com/fastreaction, as the entire demo is up for listening there!
Lurch