Deep thoughts and terpsichore music aren't a potential pair, but Omaha, NE, new-wavers The Faint [ ] effort to network mechanical dance rhythms with deep philosophies about life and the future on "Fasciinatiion," the group's fifth full-length release. Four days since the group's premature record, "Fasciinatiion" marks The Faint's DIY debut on their newly established Blank.Wav label.
In an cause to develop a cohesive theme or message, The Faint focal point heavily on social and political issues. One of the most expressive tracks is the awkward and wobbly "A Battle Hymn for Children," during which vocalist Todd Fink chants, "In the name of peace/we make war." Subject matter, however, is scarce about the only thing that seems remotely human about "Fasciinatiion"; the music itself sounds otherworldly, like the soundtrack of a B-grade space flick. Fuzzy blips, anxious synths and new-wave electronic hums eclipse these 13 dance floor-ready tracks. Every noise is distorted--voices profound like a cryptic '80s attempt at computers of the future, and the instrumentation could have been lifted from an Atari or Nintendo game--making it all passing retro-minded.
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The album's biggest downfall is that the music is nothing specially new, and sometimes the lyrics ar downright camp. "Fish in a Womb" stands tabu as one of the oddest selections and carries some of the strangest thoughts inside the album. "There's a slice in my neck/it's been in that respect since ahead I was born/I was breathing like a fish in a womb," Fink declares amid ominous, dreamy moving beatniks and optical maser zaps.
Despite its deficiency of invention, "Fasciinatiion" isn't a amount loss. The quintet want to make mature statements, but they are better when they lighten up a bit. One of the album highlights is "The Geeks Were Right," an indie-rock-flavored tune about taking an elevator into the future and finding out that girls like egghead dudes with software package brains. Surely, they can't be serious about that? Whether they are sincere or not, unfortunately, kookie blips and bleeps normally make it difficult to take any of their philosophical thoughts to pump.
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