Carla dal Forno – “Fast Moving Cars” (Singles Going Steady)

Pryor Stroud: Sparse, foreboding, and dominated by a monolithic electro-bass pulse, “Fast Moving Cars” is less a song than it is a hypnotic incantation edged with the stirrings of dark spirits — not ghosts, but something more menacing, more aggressive, willing to appear freely to the naked eye. “I want to know what else can there be / Now we’re alone we can see,” dal Forno sings, and this “what else” seems to be always inching forward from the track’s periphery to its foreground, a fantasy-remainder that bears just as much interpersonal antagonism as it does romantic hope. [7/10]

Chris Ingalls: A dark, simple beat that sounds like vintage Gary Numan kicks things off, and dal Forno’s voice, while not strikingly original, sets an appropriately gloomy scene. I kind of wish the song would continue to build into something else, but it manages to work somehow. [6/10]

Emmanuel Elone: “Fast Moving Cars” takes quite a bit of inspiration for ’80s synthpop, with its sleepy vocals and warped synth melodies. However, Carla dal Forno doesn’t do much to enhance the musical style that she’s working off of, and doesn’t even manage to incorporate much of her personality and character into the song. Granted, she does have some nice lyrics, and the chorus isn’t too shabby either, but “Fast Moving Cars” leaves a lot be desired by the end of its three and a half minute runtime. [5/10]

Chad Miller: The deadpan delivery makes the lyrics seem more interesting than they really are. Forno does throw in a few curious lines though. The music doesn’t do a lot either. It has a nice melody, but it doesn’t have much more than that. The whole song seems more concerned with preserving the spectacle it creates rather than providing substance, and it doesn’t always get away with it. [6/10]

Carla dal Forno’s “Fast Moving Cars” releases digitally and on 7-inch April 29th via Blackest Ever Black.

SCORE: 6.00