The Faint - Fasciinatiion
The Faint return with their Eight full player released on their own blank.wav label. If you’re not familiar with the music of this four piece dance-punk band by name, you most certainly will be by sound. The Faint could be credited with the whole ‘dance / rock / punk’ cross over thing. Bands like The Presets, MGMT, Offend you, Yeah? (the list goes on) all owe a debt to The Faint.
Fame arrived early with the departure of Conor Oberst ( he didn’t even record with the band), and the grabbed plenty of column inches in the press. Citing Death Metal and techno as influences, it’s fair to say that The Faint persued a sound all thier own. A pity then that ‘Fasciinatiion’ won’t sound as original as it should. It’s as if they’ve been beaten to the punchline.
‘Fasciinatiion’ is a great album. The lyrics are sharp and occasionally acidic ( and we all know how I love that) as on ‘I Treat You Wrong’ - ‘I don’t mean to sound like I want a fight, but if you’d see it my way, we could both see it…..right’. The stomping bassline of ‘Mirror Error’ becomes becomes tomorrows earworm when paired with the uplifting chorus - strange in a song about hating your appearance. That’s the beauty of The Faint - if you want some great tracks with thumping beats and an edge, they’re for you. If you’d rather tracks with a little more substance than how to spell dance, the The Faint are for you. Thinking mans electro-punk. One of the best electronic albums of the year, a contender for the top ten for sure.
THINK: If The Presets were Greenday, The Faint are Stiff Little Fingers
READ: Their homepage and great interview
WATCH: The geeks were right Vid
BUY: Fasciinatiion at The Faint.com
