Fastbacks: Win Lose Or Both

The history of the Seattle band Fastbacks borders on the inexplicable: The group has been together for nearly 20 years, cranking out amazingly energetic pop-punk music—penned by gifted songwriter/guitarist Kurt Bloch and brashly sung by guitarist Lulu Gargiulo and bassist Kim Warnick, with a revolving cast of drummers—but never finding anything resembling mainstream pop success. The latest indignity suffered by the venerable band: It has been dropped from the Seattle-based Sub Pop label, where it seemed Fastbacks would always have a loving home. Of course, this roadblock doesn't seem to have discouraged anyone, as the group has always been about little more than lovingly hammering out unpretentious, gleefully conceived, occasionally melancholy rock music. So here's Win Lose Or Both, a sort-of four-song EP that includes nine additional live bonus tracks. It's about as far from essential as Fastbacks' music gets: "Book Of Revelation" aside, the studio tracks never really take hold as pop songs, and the live tracks are little more than silly good fun, complete with ludicrous guitar solos. Win Lose Or Both may not be a classic, but it's great to hear the members of Fastbacks continuing to obliviously rock on, even after two decades of commercial indifference. God bless 'em.