REVIEW
The Faint
Danse Macabre
The Faint Revives New Wave Dancing
Without Moving Your Hips
By Zak Hall
 It all began about two years ago. The strobe was flashing, the floor was checkered, and everyone was shaking their asses to New Order and Gary Numan. This was the first 80s dance night I attended back in Cleveland, and I've been waiting and prophesizing ever since for the revival of new wave. The Faint are the strongest hope I've heard yet, similar in my ears to Depeche Mode, New Order, and on this album, early Nine Inch Nails? I wish I was some techno hipster and could explain all the synth effects and devices they use, but what can you expect from a guy who can't program a fucking VCR? The album starts off with "Agenda Suicide," which makes a good opener. It's sort of melodramatic, like if some bloodthirsty robot chased you on I-90 at two in the morning, this would be the song in the background. My fave ditty on this album is "Let the Poison Spill From Your Throat," or maybe that's just my favorite song title, I can't decide. Another favorite is "Glass Danse," which would make me go nuts if I heard it on the "dansefloor." "The Conducter" has a real apocalyptic sound to it, with the vocal distortion making singer Todd Baechle sound like Optimus Prime. The CD ends with a dreary number called "Ballad of a Paralysed Citizen," and this sort of reminds me of Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures album (among other things in the news today). The Faint's previous album, Blank Wave Arcade, is also a great buy, but Danse Macabre is much darker (violins, cellos, etc.) and more complex electronically. The Faint are definitely evolving, unrecognizable from their shitty debut, Media, which is more whiny than a little sister in the back seat of a station wagon for five hours. Speaking of automobiles, it's about time they make some damn flying cars. When they do, I'm going to blare this CD out the window of my flying car, bob my neon blue pompadour, and get a quick peek down your shirt.
The Faint will be playing the Metro on October 13.
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