a more experienced  As Fast As unveils its second album

When Portland, Maine-based rock band As Fast As signed with Octone Records to release its first album, front man Spencer Albee saw it as a tremendous opportunity. The label was already home to Maroon 5, and Albee thought the contract would help him market his unique artistic vision. But the resulting release, “Open Letter to the Damned,” fell short of Albee’s high expectations.

“I was under the impression … that the artist made the records and decided the direction of the band, and the record label would then decide the best way to market that. But what Octone likes to do instead was to be a little too active in the shaping of the sound, which never works,” Albee said. “Executives have no business shaping music.”

The singer, guitarist and keyboardist has since learned that if you want something done right, you’re best off doing it yourself. The band’s second album, “Destroy the Plastique Man,” was released independently on March 11. Albee and his bandmates—guitarist Zach Jones, bassist Hache Hodgkins and drummer Andrew Hodgkins—were able to branch out and embrace a whole new galaxy of sounds. With synth-heavy tracks, wildly diverse instrumentation and imaginative and playful songwriting, the album takes a sharp left turn from the straighter rock edge of the group’s debut. The result is a deliciously fresh and innovative disc.

After moving to Portland, Ore., for about five months, Albee returned to his native Maine last April and set to work in earnest on the new CD. He spent countless hours hanging out at Portland restaurant Local 188 and listening to old records by The Kinks, David Bowie and The Beatles. He did most of his songwriting at home, collaborating with an array of fellow musicians, including many of his old bandmates from Portland legends Rustic Overtones. As the songs began to click and ideas meshed, Albee increasingly pushed himself to steer away from the band’s comfort zone and explore new territory, ditching any songs that fell into a standard formula.

“If it felt automatic then I just stopped,” he said. “There has to be a dozen songs in the folder, in the ‘Destroy the Plastique Man’ file folder, that I just stopped with. Some of them were even, like, done, and I was like, ‘Eh, I kind of hate this song.’”
Albee’s extensive musical experience has helped him grow as both songwriter and sound engineer. Originally from York, he linked up with Rustic Overtones in the early 1990s, playing keyboard and singing backup vocals. When Rustic split up in 2002, Albee branched off and formed his own band, Rocktopus. The group, which consisted of Albee, Zach Jones, Hache Hodgkins and drummer Brian Higgins, played “slick guitar pop” rooted in early-’70s rock. The new band gave Albee an outlet for the many songs he had amassed in previous years that never made it into the Rustic repertoire.

“I found that I was very limited by my involvement in Rustic, as much as I enjoyed it,” he said. “By the time they split, I was so interested in taking, just like, such a radical step away from Rustic.” 

Rocktopus made two albums before drummer Higgins, who never quite shared his band mates’ musical tastes, decided to call it quits. When Andrew Hodgkins (not related to Hache) stepped in to fill the vacancy, the band changed its name to As Fast As. Unlike the highly diverse musical proclivities of the Rustic crew, the four members of As Fast As were all of a single musical mind.

With Octone in the rearview mirror, the group has turned yet another corner with “Destroy the Plastique Man.” The band played a CD release show for a packed crowd at Bull Moose Music in Portland and followed it up with a performance at The Asylum on March 14. Albee said he plans to schedule a show in the Portsmouth area soon.

Lyrically, the new disc is fueled by Albee’s search for himself, following the demise of a long and serious relationship. His struggle to come to grips with the breakup is quickly revealed in the album’s catchy first track, in which Albee sings, “I can be good / I can be pure / I can convince you if you’re not sure.”

But, unlike Beck’s “Sea Change,” which was also heavily charged by the collapse of a long relationship, the sound and pace of the new album are far from melancholy. The band borrowed a number of guest musicians during the recording process, incorporating instruments that range from synthesizer to glockenspiel to trombone to claves.

“Dancing a Murderous Tango” begins with a feverish volley of squealing violin strings but quickly launches into a pounding rock beat with a heavy guitar riff and gravelly vocals.

“Sleighjacking” sounds like a cross between an old Harry Nilsson track and a quirky Jim O’Rourke tune off “Insignificance.” It has a pop standard quality that is freshened by dense instrumentation and overlapping harmonies that are candy to the ear.
“Beakless Bird” finds the singer alternately drinking wine, popping pills and jerking off in a paper cup. Like many of the album’s songs, the peppy, head-bopping sound belies the rather morose lyrical content. The album’s title track takes another turn, occasionally utilizing a digital vocal effect more commonly associated with radio pop songs, but switching to a harmonized refrain that reminisces slightly of early Weezer. The song begins with Albee asking himself: “Can I finally learn to love myself?”

“This is kind of like my therapy session, kind of coming to realization and becoming comfortable with myself as a singular person, without the constant attachment of another person, and trying to like myself again,” the songwriter said, adding that he avoided writing songs that were bitter or angry. “This album’s about me, it’s not about her. I didn’t want to whine on record.”

The therapy session seems to be working, and if “Destroy” is a sign of things to come for As Fast As, the group should have an exciting future. Albee is also once again playing with Rustic Overtones, which reunited last year. But, more than ever before, he is writing music purely for himself.

“Destroy the Plastique Man” is available locally at Bull Moose Music. For more information, go to www.myspace.com/asfastasmusic.