Fast Romantics Release Summer Single 'F**k Yourself'

Fast Romantics dive into a censorship field day with the rousing, anthemic, stadium sing-along single, “F**k Yourself.” Featured on their upcoming new album Happiness + Euphoria, due out September 29 via Postwar Records. Pre-order here.

“Every Fast Romantics record has some kind of anthem on it,” notes lead singer and songwriter Matthew Angus. “and I think 'f Yourself' is that song this time around. This started out as a song about a very specific person, but as I wrote, it kept shapeshifting into being about a whole spectrum of human dumpster fires. By the end -- as so often happens -- the target turned out to be myself. Now that it’s finished, your guess is as good as mine as to who it’s really about, but it feels really fing good to sing and that’s all that matters to me.”

With a genius *bleeped* radio edit, and a complete head-scratcher of a video, this could just be the curse-filled song of the summer we have been waiting for and weren't even sure we needed, but do we ever...

“The video is this really beautiful fever dream cooked up by our dear friend and talented director Ryan Thompson,” added Angus. “We fell in love with his idea and he just ran with it. I guess you could say it’s like Full House meets Battlestar Galactica meets The Trueman Show. But yeah, I can’t get over the way it elevates the song. Ryan really got the tune and told a hilariously dark and weirdly deep story. We couldn’t be more in love with it.”

Fast Romantics have built a reputation as tenacious musical adventurers, working their way up the mountain of classic pop songwriting, eager to carve out a piece of it for themselves. The Toronto-based duo of Angus and Kirty - partners on and off stage, are bringing F.R. fans, ten sprawling new songs, masterfully crafted and equally and intentionally split into two distinct sides this fall.

Side “Euphoria,” was mixed by Los Angeles-based producer Dave Schiffman (The Killers, Haim) and is busting with jubilant pop anthems, as electric as ever and teeming with a renewed sense of self and purpose. Side “Happiness” was mixed by Marcus Paquin (The National, Arcade Fire) and is a lush, beautiful, lyrical collection of songs stirring up Angus’ most personal explorations to date. The duo also reveal the album artwork today, below.

Fast Romantics already released the tandem title-track singles, “Euphoria” and “Happiness” featuring videos that bring a full circle view to insidious implications, and what might be lurking behind the scenes in any euphoric comedown.

“The decision to let the album have this polarity, with two contrasting sides… it was more a reaction to what we realized these songs were about,” said Angus. “I think there are little slices of euphoria in every ideation of happiness, and little slivers of happiness in every euphoric experience. But the two emotions almost oppose each other at times, and then they kind of blur together.

A lot of this album is just me trying to figure out what the two words even mean. Like so many of us, I’m always searching for meaning in all of the dumbest places... in careers, in pill bottles, in bedrooms, in wallets, in mirrors. I think that search over the last five years ended up defining these ten songs, and that’s why we picked them.”

The album was produced by Angus, but he and Kirty also undertook a unique approach to making a record. Later in the process, they connected with three close creative confidants to form what Angus called their “song senate” to bring additional production.

It consisted of longtime collaborator Marcus Paquin, as well as two other key collaborators: their previous producer Gus Van Go (Metric, The Stills, Arkells), and the frontman/producer of celebrated band The Dears, Murray Lightburn.

“It was important to me that we brought in friends we trusted who could call bulls on those moments when I was getting too indulgent or stuck,” Angus said, adding sheepishly, “I’ll admit that happens quite often. Those three saved my ass.” Nick McKinlay and Jeffrey Lewis -- longtime members of the band -- also played key roles in defining the arrangements.

Fast Romantics breakthrough single “Julia” was hailed by NPR as “triumphant” and CBC Q described their LP American Love as, “a revelation of a record.” The band found Top 20 commercial radio success in Canada with, “Why We Fight,” and earned multiple #1 songs on CBC music’s national chart.

Winners of SOCAN’s songwriting prize, “Best Pop Group” at the SiriusXM Indies, and short-listed for Reeperbahn Festival’s ‘Anchor Award’ in Germany, as well as the Prism Prize in Canada. Performing as anywhere from a 5-piece to a 9-piece band, they have toured nationally and internationally over a dozen times.

All told, Fast Romantics have been waiting to release their sparkling new LP for five long years. They will be setting out on the road in support of Happiness + Euphoria with dates to be announced soon.

Photo Credit: Jen Squires

To post a comment, you must register and login.