This is not America, that’s the message from this great deep cut on Fastball’s latest LP Sonic Ranch. The ‘this’ talked about on “America” would be Hollywood, TV, or the seemingly endless loop of posturing politicians and pundits on social media. As the band sings, ‘maybe America is just a dream’ or perhaps it can found in the ‘middle of nowhere’ amid the folks who live out there. The song’s basic message is this: If common ground can be found in this oversaturated meme land it will require people talking to people in real, dusty, ordinary American places, not via polarized, overblown media representations of the country. Stylistically the song combines cool western guitar riffs and some great rough-hewn harmony vocals. The overall effect is gritty, like you can practically feel the desert heat and still taste the tequila in the back of your mouth. Check out this impressive live rendering of the song.

“America” is just one of ten great tunes on the album, if you’ll let me slip in a mini-review of the rest of what’s here. Sonic Ranch is the band’s ninth effort and it delivers on songwriting and performance. There’s a Beatlesque flavour to the flow of a lot of this record, from the White Album folk-fingerpicking style defining “Grey Sky Blue” to the more Rubber Soul light pop of “Hummingbird.” But there’s also classic Fastball super-charged singles like “Rather Be Me Than You” and “Let Love Back In Your Heart.” Basically, it’s another great package of tunes from a band that are just so reliably good.

You can visit Fastball at their website central locale here.

Top photo: Caroline LeDuc.