At the local footy the other day I saw a group of teenagers dressed the same way I was when I was fifteen. Baggy jeans, oversized hoodies and skate shoes. It was weird to think that while they looked like I used to, they probably didn’t own a copy of Triple J’s Hottest 100 Volume 5. Nor did it seem likely they’d ever heard of Fastball.
Fashion’s perpetual cycle of trends isn’t news, and I’m certainly not here to talk about anyone’s choice of outfit. But as I stood there watching these bright-eyed youngsters kicking a Sherrin around I thought about what a shame it was that whilst they now look like I did in 1999, they’ll still never know the genius of Weezer, or Radiohead, or Fastball.
You see fashion goes around in circles, but music is more linear – at least in regard to popularity. There are certainly artists that pay homage to those that have gone before, but it’s not common to see a new band create a facsimile of a previous generation’s sound. It does happen – read: Greta Van Fleet. But even then, it never quite sounds exactly the same, thanks to modern recording technology, and they’re generally never thrust to the top of the popular music industry’s chosen few.
Musically, the closest I think I’ve heard a modern act come to replicating a retro sound completely is The Teskey Brothers’ and their Motown Soul sound – which they achieved by using analogue recording equipment. However, you’re unlikely to find the Teskey Brothers at the top of any charts anytime soon.
The last band I can remember coupling a totally retro sound with chart success was Fastball. Interestingly, Fastball are famously difficult to label. Their most popular work – All the Pain That Money Can Buy – is a certified genre bender, ranging from fairly edgy alt rock all the way through to organ-driven singer-songwriter style ballads. One thing remains true though while listening to Fastball – there is something undeniably vintage about their sound. That might sound like an odd thing to say given they themselves would be considered vintage by today’s teens, but you get the point.
From guitars that wouldn’t sound out of place in a 50s rock n roll song to 70s prog rock inspired lyrics, there’s always something about their music that feels familiar. Honky Tonk, Doo Wop, Crooners, Soul, Merseybeat – there’s elements of it all in Fastball’s sound. All of that adds up to this writer believing they’re one of the most underrated acts of all time.
