Description
Label Review.
2019 album. Rock. Also available on Vinyl.
Our Overview.
American rock trio Fastball are releasing their blinding new album ‘Help Machine’ which follows on the heels of the bands acclaimed 2017 release ‘Step Into Light’. The new set, on the Austin’s TX trio’s own 33 1/3 label, once again demonstrates the distinctive songwriting, expressive vocals and inventive melodic sensibilities of Miles Zuniga and his bandmate Tony Scalzo. With drummer, Joey Shuffield completing the longstanding lineup, the trio’s time tested creative rapport is a potent as ever on such compelling tunes as Scalzo’s “White Collar,” “All Gone Fuzzy,” and “The Girl You Pretend to Be” and the Zuniga compositions “Friend or Foe,” “Holding The Devil’s Hand,” and the album’s enigmatic title track .
The trio - Miles Zuniga: Vocals, Guitar, Tony Scalzo: Vocals, Bass, Keyboards, Guitar, Joey Shuffield: Drums Percussion - new album features 11 new originals gain added sonic appeal from the production of Los Lobos member and versatile Grammy-winner Steve Berlin, whose studio resume includes work with the likes of Alejandro Escovedo, Faith No More, Rickie Lee Jones and the Tragically Hip.
Recording at Austin's Treefort Studios with engineer Jim Vollentine, who'd worked on Fastball's 2004 release Keep Your Wig On, the band and Berlin maintained an organic creative atmosphere that allowed the group members to break out of their respective comfort zones. Scalzo didn't even play his usual instrument, bass, on the sessions, instead tackling new challenges on keyboards and guitar. The group brought in old friend Bruce Hughes (formerly of Cracker and Poi Dog Pondering) to handle the album's bass parts. Other guest players on The Help Machine include Austin legend Charlie Sexton, who adds guitar on "Girl You Pretended To Be"; Wye Oak member Andy Stack, who plays multiple instruments on a pair of tracks; and Band of Heathens members Gordy Quist and John Chipman.
"We had a great time in the studio, and the whole thing was a very creative experience," Scalzo notes. "When Fastball started out, we were almost like two different bands, and Miles and I tended to be careful to keep our hands off of each other's songs. But now, we just view them all as Fastball songs, and we generally feel free to mess with them. It works better that way."
With nearly a quarter-century of music-making under their collective belt, the members of Fastball continue to extend and expand the band's widely loved body of work. The trio's catalog encompasses such memorable albums as their 1996 debut ‘Make Your Mama Proud’, their 1998 platinum breakthrough ‘All the Pain Money Can Buy’ (which spawned the Grammy-nominated Top Five hit "The Way"), 2000's ‘The Harsh Light of Day’, 2004's ‘Keep Your Wig On’, 2009's ‘Little White Lies’ and 2017's ‘Step Into Light’.
"When I look at our catalog, there's not a bad record in there," Shuffield asserts, adding, "We've been through our ups and downs, but I think we've really found our groove over the last few years. We spent a lot of time on a major label, so initially the transition back to being an indie band was a little bumpy. But now it feels comfortable being responsible for everything ourselves, because that way we're more likely to get it right. We're all so into the music now, and I think you can hear that on the last couple of albums."