Fast Romantics – “American Love” [Album Review]

Toronto-based indie rockers Fast Romantics’ latest album, American Love, combines deceptively effortless vocals with simple beats to create a catalogue of political love songs. Lead singer Matthew Angus’ raspy voice resonates throughout and singer-songwriter Kirty, a later addition to the band, balances him out with occasional interjections of her soaring voice.

Overall, the album is easy to listen to and carries the listener along in its current. Although the opening song, “Everybody’s Trying to Steal Your Heart”, felt like a dull pop song, the next two tracks, “Why We Fight” and “American Love” both had smooth, clever lyrics, going a fair way to redeeming the album’s flow. “Julia”, formerly released in 2015 as a single and the 7th song on the album, was also a bright spot–it has a catchy, fun sound, with loose, poetic lyrics.

The main downfall of the album lies in its lack of original sound. The direction the lyrics take on tackling political topics are appealing and relevant, but it’s hard to find much to say about the underlying melody, which feels a bit generic. It’s not a bad album, but neither is it one to reach for.

American Love Track Listing:

01. Everybody’s Trying to Steal Your Heart
02. Why We Fight
03. American Love
04. Get Loved
05. Ready for the Night
06. Radio Waves
07. Julia
08 Alberta
09. Kids Without a Country
10. Runaway Girl
11. How Long Is This Gonna Last
12. Heaven’s Alright

Run Time: 43:11
Release Date: April 28, 2017

Check out the song “Everybody’s Trying to Steal Your Heart”