Fast Money Music: Live at the Shacklewell Arms, 22nd April, 2026

Spend Time with Fast Money Music

Having made it to The Shacklewell Arms in Hackney in good time for the gig, I was glad of the opportunity to have a brief chat with Nick Hinman, the driving force of Fast Money Music.  It is Hinman’s catalogue of songs which have just been released on the album Fast Money Music, but he has got a powerful band together to put the meat on the rock and roll skeletons of his lyrics, featuring "gratuitous saxaphone" balanced by really clean, sharp guitar playing laid over some stonking rock. 

Fast Money Music getting set up at The Shacklewell Arms, London E8

 

A gentle-natured man, Hinman strikes me as the sort of songwriter, singer, frontman who needs the occasional gentle reminder that he has written some great tunes and can put on a rocking show.  Only he and his nearest and dearest will know whether I am in the right about this.  Never mind, how he gets to the stage and the studio is his challenge, but I am very glad to have been pointed in the direction of this guy’s work. When he gets on stage, Hinman exudes joy, having a good time in the manner of a youngster untrammelled by self-consciousness, dancing free-style at a family party.  He and his band certainly take a lot of pleasure from being up on the stage, even if the Shacklewell Arms' stage is a little cramped with five and later six performers. 

Fast Money Music, Hinman’s debut album, follows on from a couple of EPs, which have also tried to net what is delivered on stage.  As I have written before, the LP has a very likeable set of pop-rock songs, which stand up really well to repeated playing, but it doesn’t fully prepare anyone for the hit delivered by the live show.  Maybe the LP is radio / streaming friendly, expertly mixed and produced to deal with the demands of those broadcasting modes, but the way to fully appreciate Fast Money Music, the band, is to get to a performance.  Introduced to the band as I was, via the studio recording, was definitely approaching the subject the wrong way around.

Had I been to a gig of FMM first, I would have been a keen advocate of the band from the start.  This is not to say that the LP is disappointing, but it does lack the absolute punch in the gut and the thrill of their rock-pop live act.  This is an intentional swapping of pop-rock to rock-pop to describe the music, because FMM are an excellent live band.

I think that I referenced The Stooges second album Fun House, when I reviewed the album earlier this month, well that was even more pertinent on Wednesday evening.  The tenor sax (gratuitous) playing of John Waugh gives the standard two guitar, bass and drums a richness and depth to the FMM mixture that many bands lack. Because of this cool layer of reed, the rest of the band do not have to thrash through the tunes.  In fact, like Hinman’s songs, less is definitely more.  There is space to follow the songs, appreciate the sharp and neatly restrained contributions of Joshua Scarratt on lead guitar and Joe Lyons on bass, who takes a modest position in the left corner of the stage, despite his fretwork being as integral to the mix as Waugh’s sax, or Scarratt's lead.  Nico Py, the FMM drummer clearly understands all this very well, as his stick work respects the rise and fall of each number, never over-reaching, but being very much of the ebb and flow of each song. They are a band in tune with each other, which is always good to hear.

 

As it is with these musicians, each FMM song moves between soft and hard, light and heavy, in the classic rock song mode.  Yes, there are echoes of The Stooges, BMRC and The Strokes, but what makes this a great show is the presence of Nick Hinman his very self.  If you could imagine a young David Byrne in rock mode, rather than quirky-Boston-East Coast-art mode that Byrne made his own, you would not be far off in being able to imagine, the striking impression of Hinman's slender figure throwing himself into his work, as the tempo of a song picks up, or jumps into a full-on blast of rock chorus, or heavy guitar break.  At times the man isn’t quite strong enough to stay on his feet when he starts jumping around or doing a rockers' head-shake hair-shake. He exhausts himself in the hour-long set.  Everything is left on the stage in this show by the man centre stage.  His bandmates, don’t hold back either, with 100% going into putting their all into the set.

Fast Money Music stage break down with Oliver Marson who guested on Nevermind.   

The set starts fast with Hot Melt Glue, Unfortunately, then the storming Lover Boy. Each song has plenty going for it, as I said, time, timing and space to enjoy the quality of the tunes and get into the choruses. And there is humour and warmth in the gaps between songs when Hinman, gives thanks to family and friends, the audience and the music industry mental health charity Music Support  and of course the crowd who have made it out for the show, on what was a pretty chilly night. 

 

The show is awash with catchy tunes Faceless Enemy goes down a storm, as does Polar Bear, a classic example of how simple lyrics work so beautifully in a rock music format.  Nick Hinman really does understand how to get the most out of a few words.  In this, his song writing touches the brilliance of Jonathan Richman’s early work with The Modern Lovers.

A really poor photo
of the set list

By all means listen out for Fast Money Music on the radio and stream it from where ever you prefer, but I thoroughly recommend getting yourself to a Fast Money Music gig.  You will catch the bug and be driven to dance.  The audience could not help themselves. Fast Money Music are great fun.  You will enjoy yourself.

Catch Fast Money Music at:

7th May - Rough Trade Denmark St, London (Acoustic Set)

10th June - Supersonic, Paris

You can find out more about Nick Hinman's Fast Money Music via Spotify | Instagram | YouTube

The debut album, Fast Money Music is available directly from Nick Hinman, online, at gigs and through all music streaming and download platforms. Listen out for Fast Money Music on BBC Radio 6 Music. 

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Spencer Ide

24th April 2026