The Fast Feeling: Pulses

By Robin Ervolina
If three members of ska band Five Iron Frenzy form a second band, what would you expect to hear? Now, take Reese Roper out of the equation and replace the lead vocals with Leanor Ortega Till. Still with me? Add on Matt Langston from pop-punk group Eleventyseven. Are you getting a feel for The Fast Feeling, a synth-driven pop group with new-wave styling? Didn’t see that coming did you? That’s okay; you’re not alone. 
According to Till, The Fast Feeling evolved from a song writing session when FIF guitarist Scott Kerr “discovered" Leanor “could actually sing and had a voice.” Songs originally being written for FIF sparked a second band. FIF drummer Andy Verdecchio joined after listening to a few sample tracks and when Langston caught wind of the project he eagerly jumped on board. 
The Fast Feeling released their ten-song EP, Pulses, on January 13th, and I’ve been spinning it for just about a week. Each of the ten songs on Pulses has a driving rhythm and an 80’s Euro-pop feel. Till has a sweet voice. There’s no better way to say it. She scales each tune with ease, delivering carefully crafted lyrics that fall into the melody like sunshine on a cloud. She just makes everything brighter. 
The general mood of Pulses is light, creating a serotonin burst with its sugary-synth goodness. It’s pure ear candy. Till has said, “It’s just fun music. It’s music that you get to relax to. Sometimes you want to be shaken up and stirred to change things in society, but what I wanted to do with The Fast Feeling is make songs that mattered, but not so much that it distracted from the music. So the music and lyrics are very balanced out in that they’re enjoyable and they’re not so heavy handed.”
I’ve heard a lot of CDs lately that harken the 80’s Euro-pop movement, and it occured to me we may be seeing a resurgence of the genre. If so, the people that put Christian ska on the map could very well be leading the way once more with The Fast Feeling.
Get your copy of the aptly titled Pulses here.