As one would probably expect, the Fast X soundtrack is a mixed bag. It’s unapologetically corny, occasionally unlistenable, and many of the decisions made in its curation are jaw-droppingly random. And yet, like the films themselves, there is a pearl of genuine feeling at its heart that invites the listener to join the family. Still, it’s not very good.
After a spoken word (or rather, yelled) intro by popular streaming personality Kai Cenat, the album immediately launches into a fairly spotty stretch of tracks. “Spinnin” by Lil Durk and EST Gee sounds like a Chat-GPT assisted ode to the Ford Mustang. But then, “Won’t Back Down” leaps out of the gate with a top notch NBA Youngboy verse and a massive chorus that is more inspiring than a cynical listener would believe. The track works, as does the next song, “Angels Pt. 1” which pairs Kodak Black, NLE Choppa and BTS’s Jimin for a rumination on loss that is more thoughtful and graceful than it has any right to be.
“My City” and “Countin’ On You” are two forgettable tracks that fail to make their statements about belonging and accountability. But, just as the album begins to fall into algorithmic drivel, from the ashes a phoenix arrives in the form of BigXthaPlug. On the parking lot stomper “Supafly” he steals the show with a verse that floats across a gleeful, hard hitting beat, coalescing into a genuinely great summer song that forces a smile.
Unfortunately, by track 8, the highlights are close to over. The middle of the album is far more devoted to dubstep than any album should be, let alone one coming out in 2023. Then, the soundtrack becomes a Reggaeton playlist out of thin air.
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There are six Spanish language songs in a row, after thirteen in English. The choice to divide these two sections obviously creates a disjointed album that sounds like two half-finished projects got rammed into each other during a street race.
But the Spanish songs more than hold their own. “Toretto”, by J Balvin goes unbelievably hard at a time when the album is willfully losing steam. “Te Cura” and “Sigue La Fiesta” keep the pace and explore Latin genres other than the familiar Balvin Reggaeton.
Unfortunately, the back end of the album is the wrong kind of weird. There’s a “Gasolina” remix which serves the sole purpose of padding streams. “Vai Sentando” sounds like being bored and sweaty in an overcrowded Cancun club. And of course, the whole stretch is sadly tied up by some more dubstep.
The last two songs are soaring and reminiscent, but by this point the listener is drained. Listening to this album all the way through feels like going to a music festival, crying at the Juice WRLD hologram, finding two or three good acts, being hit in the face with a mango, getting to eat the mango, then getting escorted out for some perceived wrong.
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It’s entirely disorienting, rarely fun, but ultimately not a good album. They were never trying to make a coherent body of work here, so that’s not really a criticism. Most of the songs feel thematically akin to the Fast & Furious brand, and the ones that don’t are so forgettable that they leave no impression. Like the movie franchise that refuses to die, Fast X should have been put out of its misery on the cutting room floor.
