The Faint


(Copyright © 1999-2024 Piero Scaruffi | Terms of use )
Media (1998), 3/10
Blank Wave Arcade (1999), 4/10
Danse Macabre (2001), 6/10
Wet from Birth (2004), 4/10
Broken Spindles: Broken Spindles (2002), 6/10
Broken Spindles: Fulfilled (2004), 5/10
Broken Spindles: Inside / Absent (2005), 4/10
Broken Spindles: Kiss/Kick (2009), 4/10
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(Clicka qua per la versione Italiana)

The Faint were formed in Omaha (Nebraska) by vocalist Todd Baechle and drummer Clark Baechle. They debuted with Media (1998) but found their true voice when keyboardist Jacob Thiele joined. Blank Wave Arcade (Saddle Creek, 1999) indulged in dance-pop a` la Depeche Mode, New Order and Gary Numan, probably the least original style that a revivalist group could adopt (the original being already very little... original). Not even David Bowie could be so shamelessle derivative.

The Faint became stars thanks to the mediocre Danse Macabre (Saddle Creek, 2001), another stale nostalgic exercise in retro-futurism (Glass Danse World, The Conductor, Violent) made truly annoying by the robotic vocals.

The dull Wet from Birth (Saddle Creek, 2004) added synthesized strings, but, overall, repeated the same patterns in a simple rock format (How Could I Forget, Desperate Guys) and only hinted at possible alternatives (Southern Belles in London Sing).

Far more interesting was Broken Spindles, the electronic side-project of The Faint's bassist Joel Peterson. The all-instrumental Broken Spindles (Tiger Style, 2002) is a series of postcards from digital post-rock soundscapes, notably Twitching and Restless. Fulfilled (Saddle Creek, 2004) is ruined by Petersen's whispered vocals, and, in general, displays a less cohesive approach to sound, swinging indecisively from neoclassical interludes to abstract constructions.

Faint's Fasciinatiion (Blank.Wav, 2008) was even better arranged and electronic but just didn't contain interesting material.

The Broken Spindles became a (mediocre) singer-songwriter with Inside / Absent (2005) and Kiss/Kick (Blank.Wav, 2009).

(Copyright © 2003 Piero Scaruffi | Terms of use )
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