This is a wonderfully well-conceived piece of country pop, one that effortlessly pumps and chugs through verses, explodes into beautifully-sung choruses and clever musicianship, to ultimately deliver a genuine thrill-fest for fans of the genre.
Over close-to-the-mic confessional-style vocals in the verses, we get pulsing four-on-the-floor kick drum and sparse plucks of guitar. Then the vocal rhythm steps up into a pre-chorus section that opens its arms wide for a warm chorus of arena-filling drums and soothing backing vocals. Smart chord changes are familiar, yet don’t quite go where you expect, and are complemented by a searching melody that delivers the title in haunting form.
Faster deals with all the excitement and fear of beginning a new relationship, and all the vulnerabilities and promise that it could mean – and how, if things are moving fast (or Faster!), this intensifies them. The melodies that Megan delivers capture that breathlessness, cleverly using her breathing as a part of the instrumentation. The way she wraps her delivery around the sweet anticipation and nervousness as she hits the big notes on the chorus is tantalising and exciting indeed.
The excitement continues through the second verse to get to the bridge… and the bridge is a thing of beauty. Over an arpeggiating banjo, we get a wonderful half-time feel that drives the in-and-out breath feel. From there we go to a broken down chorus, which adopts the half-time feel, before going back to a pedal-to-the-metal drive for an instrumental version of the hook that breaks down to an all-too-quick, breathless conclusion.
Faster made my heart beat faster. It’s a brilliant piece that deserves your attention.
Find & follow Megan Golden on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.
