Be warned. The title is more than a little ironic. Fast isn't. This, the third release from the original Christian techno band, finds them at their moodiest, most introspective and most ambient. It's best to read the title as a noun rather than an adjective. This is the aural equivalent of being on a fast, of sitting before God, observing and contemplating. If you care to spend some time exploring the nature of reality, the Prodigal Sons are offering you a good soundtrack for doing just that. If you want to get up and shake your thang, you'd best look elsewhere. Given the blazingly fast rave nature of the first two releases, this will probably disappoint some, but luckily for me, there are few things I enjoy as much as good ambient, and this sits comfortably with the best in the market.
As has been the case with other recent Velocity releases, Fast is a two disc set for the price of a single disc. (I think everyone reading this needs to write N-Soul founder Scott Blackwell a little note saying thank you for this persistent habit of generosity.) The first of the two discs on this release are the studio tracks for the new songs; the second is a live album. For those who have wondered how it is that music that has no lyrics can be considered Christian, disc two provides the answer. It's all about the presentation, and J.R. Barbee, the band's DJ and "resident preacher," is certainly far from being shy as to the purposes behind the Prodigal Sons work. Consider the live show worship for the new generation.
The strength of the first disc lies in its warmth and complexity. A great deal of pure techno music has the tendency to have a mechanical, sterile quality to it. This does not. The textures are rich and inviting, washing over you in successive waves. The songs themselves manage to maintain the balance between being consistent enough that the entire package holds together as a single unit while still being diverse and complex enough to hold your attention throughout. They do stumble slightly in this regard with two tracks ("One God" and "Prosperity Tweakers") which don't quite fit the overall feel of the rest of the project, but aside from the one flaw, this is a near perfect release.
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