The Faint: Fasciinatiion

The Faint: Fasciinatiion

2008

blank.wav Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Get Seduced  2. The Geeks Were Right  3. Machine in the Ghost  4. Fulcrum and Lever  5. Psycho  6. Mirror Error  7. I Treat You Wrong  8. Forever Growing Centipedes  9. Fish in a Womb  10. A Battle Hymn for Children

Again, sorry for the lack of posts since December. We're in the middle of a hellish move and my albums are scattered all over oblivion. Not to mention, a component of my stereo setup is MIA and I haven't been able to track it down yet, so I've been vinyl-free since Saturday. I'm jonsin', man! JONSIN'! Listening to a smattering of music here and there on the computer (when no one else is using it) through the world's tinniest speakers, enduring unending youtube ads. (I talk to these folks who don't own any physical media and I'm just too old to get it. I can't take ads anymore! I'm in the middle of rocking out to some Ramones on Spotify and an ad pops up every 3 songs! AGGGHHH! And how do you download stuff without a virus making your computer grind to a halt until it eventually dies a slow, painful death. AGGGGHHH! Or having to download your music library every time your computer dies. AGGGHHHHH! Or having an mp3 player that sounds like a swishy piece of tin and a 2 hour battery life. AGGGGHHHHH! Or a phone with the same problems but also sets off an alarm that interrupts the song every time somebody posts a picture of their baby online. AGGGHHHH! (end parenthesized old man rant)).

It's all starting to come together though...The moving process should be done by the end of next weekend. Then I'll be settled in for the long haul (oh, I'm never moving again. Each time I have to do it, I hate it a little more).

But I didn't invite you guys over to bitch about hauling 500-lb crates of records down three flights of stairs (suddenly gets the appeal of digital music), I invited you guys to talk about The Faint's "Faciinatiion"...

Oh, whew...What a relief. The Faint are good again...

I had a pretty dim view of "Wet From Birth," but this album brought me back into the fold. It's great. It retains much of the harsh brightness of "Wet From Birth" but loses the needless clutter and general dopiness and just focuses on making straight-forward new wave rock. Actually, there's still a bit of dopiness but when used sparingly, it ends up being sorta endearing. One example is "Fulcrum and Lever," where Todd Fink dramatically recreates a childhood injury, but he gives a genuinely tension-filled performance that actually gets you interested in the outcome of the story. Love it.

And "The Geeks Were Right" possibly dethrones "Agenda Suicide" as the ultimate Faint track. Just a solid, supremely catchy vocal melody over a constantly evolving synth-rock backing that keeps you engaged and dancing for the song's 3 minute duration. Now that's how you write a brilliant blank wave single (Actually, now that I think about it, it sounds very similar to "Agenda Suicide." Like if the shadowy city where "Agenda Suicide" takes place is suddenly flooded with bright light). Oh, another part of the album that I love is the tinkly keyboard solo in "Machine in the Ghost" where it suddenly sounds like "Revenge of the Nerds."

If you squint your ears a bit, you can almost imagine "Psycho" or "I Treat You Wrong" on the radio, provided radio wasn't a vast "Don't Stop Believing'-ravaged wasteland. For all the trash I talked about "Wet From Birth," I have to hand it to these guys. This is a totally worthwhile album and very nearly a return to form. I know the band has put out one more album since this (2014's "Doom Abuse") but I haven't gotten around to listening to it yet. Maybe I'll check it out one day and let you know what I think...

Hey. Let's listen to some music. Here's "The Geeks Were Right" by The MF-ing Faint. Enjoy it!