The Faint - Fascination (Blank.wav)
3/5
By: Jacob Dunkley
It's been a few years since we've heard anything from the Faint, the Nebraska band who were churning out their brand of electro and punk before it was actually cool the second time around. The Faint have since departed from Saddle Creek, the label they had been on almost since their inception and with whom they released their last album, 2004's critically acclaimed Wet From Birth, and since founded their own label Blank.wav (A take on their second album that helped defined their sound as we hear it now).
So now to Fascination, their fifth full length outing and an album that's taken four years to record since the bands previous outing. Not a lot has changed, although this isn't necessarily a negative point. I think both Wet From Birth and Danse Macabre, the bands two previous albums, are both fantastic pieces of work - so what we are presented with on this latest offering is more of a natural progression than anything ground-breaking. When The Faint released Danse Macabre in 2001, they and bands like Radio 4 were forerunners of a scene that has since become congested and stifled. However, perhaps this is now an opportunity for The Faint to access wider audiences and expand on a cult fanbase they already have?
Having given the album a few listens now, it has some great tracks, most notably the first single 'The Geeks Were Right', an electro gem of just under three minutes that is classic Faint and should not be confined to the stereo but enjoyed loudly and accompanied by dance moves, preferably in a club, with friends and possibly alcohol. Alright, definitely alcohol.
Other highlights include 'Forever Growing Centipedes' and 'Psycho', which really help bind the album as a whole and would not have been out of place on either of the bands previous records. 'Fulcrum and Liver' is perhaps the track that shows a maturity and development befitting of a band releasing album number five, blending an almost hip hop backing with down tempo electro with surprisingly enjoyable results.
The album as a whole is perhaps not as directly dancefloor orientated as their past albums may be perceived, and we're therefore presented with a synth heavy record that is more suited to be played as the party is winding down as opposed to in full flow. This is ultimately no bad thing and is what we should really expect from such a band on their fifth album, and if you're a fan of the band already then you will know what to expect and enjoy it for what it is. If you have not however heard the Faint before and want to hear a band who have been writing songs long before the Klaxons hit puberty, this is a good place to start.
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