Getting Fantastic with

• Tracklisting

At first a three-piece, and in their later "classic lineup" a mere two-piece, but decidedly never a four-piece, The Fantasy Four wasted no time in showing their jovial nature. Their tongue-in-cheek choice for a name set the stage for an exuberant and often light-hearted, but never unemotional, sound. Owing in part to the girl group sounds of yesteryear and power-pop mammoths of slightly-less-yesteryear, The Fantasy Four comprise the guitar work of Marcia Pandolfi, the bass of Bunnygrunt's Karen Ried, and the drum styling of Scott Hermes, with Pandolfi and Ried sharing vocal duties and songwriting alike. When fifteen songs average a two-minute, seven-second duration, such as those on Getting Fantastic With..., you know that they had better pack a punch in their oh-so-fleeting time spent in your ears. The Fantasy Four do not disappoint on this-right out of the gate, "Can't Forget Your Hair" pops and sizzles with rock and roll urgency, sweet vocal harmony, and lyrical playfulness that doesn't let you go, not that you want it to, even after it's less than ninety seconds are up. "(All The Way Back In) Kansas City" continues the trend with lilting vocal hooks, warm choral background arrangements, and the subject matter of young academic love. "Warm (You Used To Be)" is an upstanding example of what happens when you slow the Fantasy Four down a little. Specifically, you get a girl-group-style gem complete with flowery bassline, calculatedly reserved drumming, pained and heartbroken lead vocal, a classic "sha-la-la" backing vocal, a seemingly constant crescendo, and overall girl-band goodness.