When grown folks make grown-folks alternative rock, it becomes something else entirely. With the baby fat of rebellion burned away, what’s left is timeless music that resonates with audiences long after the feedback settles.
The men of Fastball have created in their ninth studio release, Sonic Ranch, an accidental piece of brilliant rock & roll that could be the band’s most cohesive and musically mature album to date. Lead single and opening track “Rather Be Me Than You” sets a familiar tone – pop music without the fuss. There’s much of that here – music for the sake of music, a band crafting songs because it seems natural to do so. Sonic Ranch retains those lean-cut minor chords many associate with their sound from the Nineties: an off-kilter amalgamation of Sixties-drenched surfer rock lacking the layered-vocal complexity of Brian Wilson, but mastering the use of electric organs and heavily bent guitar strings that imitate the crest of an ocean wave (Dick Dale & His Del-Tones, the Rivieras).
Producers David Garza and John Fields, whose names inspire (and require) the utmost respect, proved to be magical additions to the band’s dynamic. Garza has a mind for sound and space that complements the beautifully simplistic musicianship of Tony Scalzo, Miles Zuniga, and Joey Shuffield. Fields, meanwhile, adds touches of magic that truly allow every idea to flourish. They exchange energy among themselves like sibling souls. This combination of perspectives gave birth to two of the album’s most memorable tracks: “Daydream” and “America.”
Zuniga and Scalzo trade lead vocal and songwriting spotlights, more often than not collaborating. When they allow themselves to really dig into their creative strengths, some of the most beautiful writing and composition comes to the forefront. Scalzo has a knack for storytelling. His ability to build worlds from daydreams seems almost like divine intervention. From a simple thought, a memory, we’re gifted truly poignant pieces like “Get You Off My Mind” and the formidable “Let Love Back in Your Heart” – a track complete with soaring vocals, soulful guitar, spine-grabbing drums, and Scalzo’s visually captivating lyricism.
Zuniga, on the other hand, has a penchant for the poetic. “Hummingbird” has shades of David Bowie’s “Changes,” particularly in Zuniga’s vocal performance. The bend and warble of his vibrato choices are very reminiscent of Bowie’s timbre. Yet the melancholy of memory is endearing in much the same way. He seems to provide more hauntingly introspective, somewhat elegiac fare. His voice is well suited for the acoustic loveliness of heartbreaker “Grey Sky Blue” and the melodic “On and On” – which has the same emotional weight compositionally as “Goodbye Blue Sky” or “Young Lust,” with a chugging guitar intro that could have you thinking you’re just another brick in the wall.
Sonic Ranch proves that good music is always good no matter how much time passes.
The album ends on the brazen, seemingly mundane, but no less beautifully rendered “I’ll Be on My Way.” Scalzo’s voice is particularly lovely here, regardless of subject matter. Piano and voice, a surprisingly powerful track about getting paid on time. It closes the album matter-of-factly with an unexpectedly emotional composition – the eloquence of “Piano Man” with the energy of “Bitch Better Have My Money.” A goodbye note that lingers in the limbs after the reverb fades on the last note. (Whoever didn’t pay this man was just gifted the most elegant callout I’ve heard on an album in a while.)
Sonic Ranch proves that good music is always good no matter how much time passes. Though their hits are still what they are (and they’re damn good songs, at that), newer releases like this have a richness to them, an ease and unhurried elegance that pulls on the listener’s nostalgia, but doesn’t exploit it. It’s music that exists naturally without needing to announce itself. This new adventurous offering in the hands of a band like Fastball feels like home.
Fastball
Sonic Ranch
Sunset Blvd Records
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This article appears in June 28 • 2024.