Fastrack have had what could be called a meteoric rise through the ranks of local Ausrock bands. Barely 1 year old (actually 1 year old on the 17th of January), they have an EP available and are soon to be embarking on a national tour to plug it.
15 Jan 2010 8:00 P
Club Blink @ the Agincourt Hotel Sydney
16 Jan 2010 10:00 A
Castle Hill BMX Championship ALL AGES Sydney
6 Feb 2010 8:00 P
Enigma w/ Burn’Collect Adelaide
7 Mar 2010 8:00 P
The Rosemount Perth
21 Mar 2010 8:00 P
The Duke of York Adelaide
28 Mar 2010 8:00 P
The Espy Melbourne
11 Apr 2010 8:00 P
The Roundhouse UNSW Sydney
18 Apr 2010 8:00 P
The Jubilee Queensland
Fastrack are
BRAD MARR // vocals + guitar
BEN SARROS // drums
SIMON KLAAYSEN // bass
JIMMY DEE // lead guitar
Their success is not only due to hard work, but also their incredible stage presence and musical dexterity.
Their 5 song EP, Hit The Ground Running, is a fair representation of their live show, which is pretty high praise considering that they, like most hard rock bands, are best experienced in the flesh.
It opens with the title song, Hit The Ground Running, a ballsy rocker highlighted by some great drumming courtesy of Ben Sarros, along with a catchy chorus. Last Train Home is a faster still rocker which only a skilled vocalist such as Brad Marr could pull off with any success. Truth About Me, is sure to be a live favorite with it’s huge singalong interludes. Believe is far and away the best song here. It showcases the full extent of the talent Fastrack have to offer, from Brad Marrs versatility as a vocalist, to Guitarist Jimmy Dee’s delicate to bone-crunching skill. Believe could be called the EP’s only ballad, but it’s far from the soulless radio ballad mush one might expect. The last track Loaded Gun is another fast paced rocker with Ben Sarros and Brad Marr again shining.
Lyrically this effort is so much more intelligent than some of the nonsensical garbage masquerading as songwriting these days. Musically it’s fair to say they are not reinventing the wheel, however they do what they do extremely well and have a huge future.
By this ep here, It might just become a very collectible item in years to come.
(4.5/5)
Listen to the title track for below
Great review, pretty spot-on, but I think Simon Klaaysen (bass) more than deserves a share of the praise you’ve given the other 3/4 of FASTRACK. His fills add melodic substance to the material, his technique is on the money, he has a tonne of charisma on stage, and is pioneering rocknroll bass with the use of unconventional pedals and effects. Bass players are always underestimated. It’s worth taking note of this one.
Hi, thanks for the comment. I just re read the review, and you are right. The whole package works as one to make the music what it is. I should have been more through…but in my defense, it is the first real review I have done so far.
I’ll take what you say about bass players on board for next time.
Cheers!
Heard the song Hit the Ground running on triple M and bought the album, dont know how i stumbled on this review but its spot on! They are a tight band huge future and are going from strength to strength, my first show of theirs will be at the evelyn in a couple of weeks, surely wont be my last!
[...] four new songs show a real progression from their debut EP, “Hit The Ground Running“. All that gigging and hard work has really paid off for them, they sound tight and more [...]