Fastball

The last we heard from Fastball was 2004’s Keep Your Wig On — a terrific outing handicapped by scant promotion. The band took a break, worked apart and then came together again in 2007 to start writing new material. Little White Lies showcases the solid songwriting and unique harmonies of Fastball’s two lead singers, Tony Scalzo and Miles Zuniga, that propelled 1998’s All the Pain Money Can Buy to the top of the charts, but the arrangements reflect a distinct maturity and a lifetime of influences. “Always Never” has a breezy ’70s-Seals-and-Crofts feel, with acoustic guitar, keyboards and violin adding a special character to the driving melody. The title track goes in an early Duran Duran direction, but rocks harder with Zuniga’s guitar parts. And "Soul Radio” begins with a Joe Jackson-type piano intro, then eventually descends into a deranged, epic jam. The themes of fleeting fame are evident and personal, as in lines like, “I hear my music on the radio/what’s the song from long ago they’re still playing/is it saying anything to you?” (“The Malcontent [The Modern World]”). Little White Lies marks a quick look back for Fastball, like a wistful glance in the rearview mirror, but with a gaze that’s clearly focused on the future.