...Echo Park's Wait.Think.Fast. play pretty, catchy pop tinged with a subtle, dark spirit. Frontwoman and piano driver Jacqueline Santillan meets the cheerful surrealism of the scene halfway, with an '80s-tinged style that takes a decidedly romantic view of new wave. Learn to skate a figure-eight, while WTF pushes indie odes to decay and ennui.
— Flavorpill, January 2009
Wait Think Fast is one of the current standouts in a burgeoning scene of ethnically and musically diverse Los Angeles-based bands. Fronted by Argentinean-born vocalist and pianist Jacqueline Santillan, the quartet adds distinct flavor to its atmospheric, post-punk sound by using both Spanish and English for its bilingual lyrics. Wait Think Fast released a self-titled debut EP last year, and it's recently followed it up with the 7-song Vuelve al Mar, on L.A.'s Origami Records.
Vuelve al Mar begins with the seductive and spacey "Cura," which tells of the superstitions and folklore Santillan heard while growing up. Beautifully noisy guitar accompanies ghostly piano while Santillan switches between Spanish and English lyrics in transitions so smooth, they're hardly noticeable. "Cura" is followed by "Clear Our Name," a song entirely in English and one that has landed Wait Think Fast on L.A. radio waves. It's easy to hear why it's caught the attention of the public. Haunting, tightly crafted, with thoughtful lyrics (an approachable discussion of immigration, in this case), "Clear Our Name" perfectly showcases all of Wait Think Fast's strengths.
Later, the group abandons its fuzzy guitars for the glittering beauty of "Cien Fuegos." Its swaying, dreamlike melody will lull any listener, whether they understand Spanish or not. Like the rest of Vuelve al Mar, the emotive nature of "Cien Fuegos" easily transcends any language barrier.
— NPR, December 2008
"...Echo Park quartet Wait. Think. Fast. more than make up for their punctuational demands with generous melody and attentive songcraft. The songs are solid without being rigid, and pretty without being cloying. My fave is the breezy, LA-atmospheric "Cien Fuegos," on which Argentinean-born vocalist/keyboardist Jacqueline Santillan floats seductive Spanish over a Beach Boys/Radiohead/Elliott Smith vibe. ..."
— Randall Roberts, LA Weekly, November 2008
“Vuelve al Mar” (Origami) – How do you say “dreamy” in Spanish? This intoxicating bit of shimmering shadow-pop (reminds me of the ethereal, folky work of the Golden Palominos in the ’90s) serves its metaphysical themes well. Argentinean-born singer-keyboardist Jacqueline Santillan narrates plaintively as holy water turns black, frogs come out at midnight, souls return to the sea and bad luck stalks he who makes bad decisions. And that’s just in one song. A couple spins of this disc, produced by Matthew Beighley (the band’s guitarist-bassist), and you won’t even notice that it’s bilungual and you’re not.
— Kevin Bronson, buzzbands.la, November 2008
An indie darkland of whirlpooled, noise-spiked atmospherics cut through by the lipcurled and smoke-hewn sensuousness of Jacqueline Santillan’s bilingual vocals and the sinewy crunch of wiry, Wire-y guitar lines, Wait.Think.Fast.’s Vuelve al Mar is nearly as complete a vision as any EP is allowed to be—in its thirty minutes the record swirls from the lean sinew of chiming postpunk (“Clear Our Name”) to ambient trickles of silvery, synthy beauty (“Cien Fuegos”), with each track in between bearing the band’s uniquely noirish stamp of gently apocalyptic (figure that one out) beauty. Sure, they echo a bit of the Bunnymen (Johnny Marr, too, but then that kills the pun), but that’s it—just echoes. The rest belongs to the band, and to those lucky enough to listen.
— Travis Woods, webinfront.net, October 2008
Wait.Think.Fast play quick ("Surface Streets," pushing a little seagull guitar that reminds me of Ride with a nervous "fearless/forward" chorus) or charming ("Clear Our Name" is absolutely radio-ready—takes off like someone's chasing it!) but find their best when they are deep and slow and sad, like "Heavy Water" (with singer Jacqueline most tenderly aflutter in all the heartbreaking places) or the stand-out "Cien Fuegos," a dream-pop song powered by a lonely little flame all its own. Mazzy Star melancholy and mechanics on much of this, but you can feel a lot of other favorites that might be here, too: Johnny Marr and Neko Case and maybe Debbie Harry? Listener-scholars who knew how tiny parts have to align with big parts. Pinpoint production by Matthew Beighley and Jacqueline Santillan, picks out undiscovered nooks and knuckles for every listen on songs like "Heavy Water," where about five counterpointing ideas somehow sway into salutary balance, and time takes a cigarette before closer "Pajaros De Papel," an auld-lang-syne finish to an EP that already feels like an album. (Which will be coming real quick after this if the world does its math right.) People love those uncommon songs that get you feeling happy and sad both for the same four minutes; here waits a set you haven't heard yet.
—L.A. Record, September 2008
"The piano-based set featured powerfully resonating keyboards and hauntingly passionate vocals, reminiscent of Patti Smith. Argentinean vocalist and keyboardist Jacqueline Santillan, highlighted the band’s Spanish language songs ...the band managed to play an amazingly beautiful and powerful series of electro-pop/rock songs."
Performer Magazine July 2008
www.performermag.com/wcp.livereviews.0807.php
"...a female fronted Echo and The Bunnymen and The Smiths with an ethnic twist. Santillan's vocals hover like clouds above the firmly rooted post punk influenced guitars."
Amateur Chemist, May 2008
"Wait Think Fast undoubtedly performed the best set of music they have ever done and if you have not heard their new, lusher than lush sound, your life would be incomplete without it."
L.A. Underground reviews Origami Records Showcase, April 2008
"...listening to Wait Think Fast is like having dreams forced on your brain."
Classical Geek Theater Blog, Feb 2008
"...Wait Think Fast's new songs are beautiful..."
L.A. Underground, Feb 2008
"Atmospheric, ethereal, and jazzy, Wait Think Fast is an outstanding debut EP. The creative juggernaut behind the group, Jacqueline was quite busy with this debut: writing, producing, and tickling the ivories. But it’s her nonchalance, her indifference, her subtle F-U attitude that really transcends the album, taking it to a level rarely seen by debut songwriters. A potential Femme Fatale in the making, Santillan and Wait Think Fast should make sublime music together for a long time."
- www.cdreviews.com, August 2007
“Wait Think Fast are a multi-ethnic Los Angeles band that put a Latin spin on an early '80s post-punk sound. Argentinean born singer/pianist Jacqueline Santillan's sultry alto often sounds like PJ Harvey sitting in with Interpol.”
- NPR All Songs Considered, July 2007
"The music is creative, sharp, balanced and made of the same material as the heart"
- Shaun Kadlec- SK/AR Media, July 2007
"Wait Think Fast: Ex-Central City Transmission’s keyboardist introduces the new cool."
Uhm. Yeah, and why isn't "Look Alive" on my CD? HMM? Man, I don't want to go to Frisco on the 25th anymore. Alas, there will be another day to fight, maybe on a Mucho tour, that is if they're not smart enough to take you along. Suerte!
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