Following up a well-received underground single can be difficult. It can also lead to a state of analysis/paralysis for an artist as they battle against a number of important identity questions; should their next output be more of the same, or should it be a new sound entirely. Is it easier to take risks when you have nothing to lose, than it is when expectations are high?
At the heart of such, heavy, questions lies perhaps the real question an artist has to ask themselves; “what do I want to say, and how do I want to present the message”.
2019 has been an interesting break through year for heavy riff’ers Fast Blood. Capped off by their blistering, guitar heavy, debut single ‘YOU’ and a number of intense live performances with the likes of Cocaine Piss, the Fast’s have a set an interesting benchmark for themselves. But as expectations begin to build, the real, and difficult, question is what do they do next?
“We’ve had a great year this year” says Fast Blood lead guitarist Dave “but I think what’s more important is what comes next and how we continue our momentum. We should always be looking to push things forward”.
Fortunately, pushing things forward seems to be all in hand for the Fast’s as they kick 2020 off early (10th January) with the release of their second single ‘MILO’, a heavier, more punk enthused, construction and plans for a quick round of successors.
“YOU came out in November and it’s been streaming far better than we thought, which was nice as we loved it but weren’t sure how others would feel about it. We want to build on the momentum by releasing Milo as a single in January and then follow it up quickly with our first full EP in February”.
Supporting the release of Milo, and the ‘Fast Blood EP’, the band are also keen to get back onto the live circuit as quickly as they can; an EP launch party has already been scheduled for Kaleidoscope in February with plans afoot to gig as often as possible. “We played some amazing live shows in 2019 and if anything the band has grown by playing live and taking that punk rock, hardcore, emo energy into the studio and trying to capture it as best as we can. We’re keen to carry on playing live as often as we can in 2020 both in order to support our releases but also to find our feet and build confidence. The reception from our gigs has been amazing though and especially as we’re all influenced by emo and punk we try to get really into our shows, trying to find a visceral, raw, kind of experience. To do that I think you need to practice playing live as often as you can’.
With a clear sense of sound forming (“I’d say we are all about guitar riffs and personally I’d say we’re a blend of emo and hardcore, but everyone in the band will have their own ideas which is important”) and a clear direction of travel (“the plan is to have the EP out in February and to push things forward with a few more gigs and then, if we can, to look at more releases in 2020”) this could be a big year for a humble band with big ambitions. Let’s see what answers they give us to the big questions.