| The Help Machine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 18, 2019 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 36 minutes | |||
| Label | 33 1/3 Records | |||
| Producer | Steve Berlin | |||
| Fastball chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from The Help Machine | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| The Austin Chronicle | [2] |
| The Alternate Root | [3] |
The Help Machine is the seventh studio album by American rock band Fastball.
The album was produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, who personally selected the tracks [4] for the album from a list of songs provided to him by members Tony Scalzo and Miles Zuniga. [5] Berlin recruited bassist Bruce Hughes, [6] [7] This freed Scalzo to concentrate on keyboards and guitar. [8]
This album marks the first time since The Harsh Light of Day that a Fastball album does not feature songs co-written by Scalzo and Zuniga. [5]
The first single off of the album, "The Help Machine", addresses the effects of consumerism. According to Zuniga, "[the song is] just about emptiness and the feeling that things that are supposed to make us happy don't." [9]
Described as "ethereal", [10] the album also features the band's signature sound with comparisons to Elvis Costello [11] and the Beatles. [12] Pop Matters magazine referred to the album as "pop perfection." [13] The album features a "thick modern sound" [14] and is considered to be a great introduction to the band's catalog. Critics called the album "near perfect" [15] and considered it one of the best albums of 2019. [16]
To support the album, Tony Scalzo and Miles Zuniga performed live tracks for Paste Magazine. [17]
Guest musicians
Fastball is an American rock band. It was formed in Austin, Texas, in 1992. The band originally called themselves Magneto U.S.A., and changed their name after signing with Hollywood Records.
Tony Scalzo is an American rock musician and songwriter best known as the lead singer of the band Fastball.
Young Heart Attack (YHA) were a rock band from Austin, Texas, that formed in 2001. Chris "Frenchie" Smith and bassist Steven T. Hall had previously been in the Sixteen Deluxe and Joey Shuffield in Fastball.
All the Pain Money Can Buy is the second studio album by American rock band Fastball, released on March 10, 1998, on Hollywood Records. The album includes the hit singles "The Way" (1998), "Fire Escape" (1998), and "Out of My Head" (1999). The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in June 1998 and went Platinum in September of the same year, making it Fastball's most successful release.
Great Lake Swimmers is a Canadian folk rock band from Wainfleet, Ontario, and currently based in Toronto.
"The Carpet Crawlers" is a song written and performed by the English progressive rock band Genesis, recorded for their sixth studio album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. The song tells the section of the album's story where Rael, the lead character, finds himself in a red carpeted corridor surrounded by kneeling people crawling towards a wooden door. Rael dashes by them towards the door and goes through it. Behind the door is a table with a candlelit feast on it, and behind that, a spiral staircase that leads upwards out of sight.
The Harsh Light of Day is the third studio album by pop-rock band Fastball, released in September 2000 by Hollywood Records. It contained the single release "You're an Ocean," which spent eight weeks on the Billboard Bubbling Under chart and peaked at #101 during the fall of 2000. It also reached #25 on Radio & Records.
"Out of My Head" is a song by the American band Fastball from their second studio album, All the Pain Money Can Buy (1998). The song is a rock ballad with gospel influence, dominated by Hammond organ and piano. Bassist Tony Scalzo is the lead singer on the song, with guitarist Miles Zuniga coming in with harmony during the last chorus. The song was serviced to American rock radio in January 1999 and to contemporary hit radio two months later.
Make Your Mama Proud is the debut album released by the rock band Fastball. The track "Are You Ready For The Fallout?" was issued to some radio stations as the single for the record.
Keep Your Wig On is the fourth studio album released by the rock band Fastball. It was released by the indie label Rykodisc and the record was mixed by Bob Clearmountain. Adam Schlesinger produced Someday and Red Light during the band's New York recording sessions.
Little White Lies is the fifth studio album by American rock band Fastball. It was released on April 14, 2009, and was recorded through the year 2008. It was originally to be released on March. It was produced by Miles Zuniga and CJ Eiriksson, mixed by Bob Clearmountain. It is their first album since 2004. The album is distributed by MRI/RED Distribution.
...Ya Know? is the second and final solo album by Joey Ramone. It was released posthumously on May 22, 2012, by BMG. The album features producers Ed Stasium, Jean Beauvoir, Daniel Rey, Joey's brother Mickey Leigh and Joe Blaney. Musicians include Joan Jett, Steven Van Zandt, Richie Ramone, Holly Beth Vincent, Genya Ravan, members of Cheap Trick and the Dictators and Mickey Leigh.
My Favorite Year is the debut solo album by American singer, guitarist and keyboardist Tony Scalzo of Fastball fame. It was engineered by Joe Blaney, who helped to engineer The Clash's fifth album Combat Rock. Work on the album started on 2011, when Tony started a Kickstarter program. According to Tony, the songs he co-wrote with his Fastball colleague Miles Zuniga were originally created as Fastball tracks, but were not included in any of the band's records. He defined the genre of the album as "melodic pop".
Freetown Sound is the third album by Dev Hynes recording as Blood Orange. It was released on 28 June 2016, three days before its originally announced release date of 1 July 2016. The album contains guest appearances by Empress Of, Debbie Harry, Nelly Furtado, Kelsey Lu and Carly Rae Jepsen. The album cover is a 2009 photograph titled Binky and Tony Forever by American artist Deana Lawson.
A Million and One is the fifth studio album from the American group My Brightest Diamond.
Formless/Functional is a 1998 album by Minneapolis alternative rock band Polara, their third full-length album and their last for Interscope Records.
Jetpack Blues is a 2002 album by Minneapolis alternative rock band Polara, their fourth full-length record, and first after breaking with Interscope Records and going independent. It was released on bandleader Ed Ackerson's Susstones Records label, and produced by Ackerson at his recording studio, Flowers, which he founded by reinvesting the money from the band's Interscope deal as well as an otherwise unsuccessful deal with Chris Blackwell's Palm Pictures.
Step Into Light is the sixth studio album by American rock band Fastball and called "the must have album of the summer [of 2017]." Their first album since 2009, it was released in 2017. The album was recorded over a two-week period. The album was produced by the band, Chris "Frenchie" Smith, and mixed by Bob Clearmountain.
Soundtrack is the first EP released by American rock band Fastball. All four songs debuted previously through their Patreon page before being released on all streaming platforms.
Harm's Way is the second studio album by Canadian indie rock duo Ducks Ltd., released on February 9, 2024, through Carpark Records. The duo co-produced the album with Dave Vettraino. It received positive reviews from critics.
