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The Faint | Dance Macabre

A fun, but not that exciting, neo-'80s album.
CD, Saddle Creek

Tekst: Martijn van Gessel

Publicatiedatum: 19 april 2002

This is the third album by the neo-wave band The Faint, from the United States. Initially their sound was guitar-based, as evident on their first album Media, from 1998. From their second album (Blank Wave Arcade) on, their sound became keyboard-driven. None of these albums, including the new one, Danse Macabre, have been released in Europe, so they are only available there as imports. There have been a number of neo-'80s acts around during the past few years, examples being Les Rythmes Digitales, Ladytron, and the lesser-known Iris. Besides that, there are also groups whose sound is not based on '80s music but is more-or-less inspired or influenced by music from that era. Such acts are the Low Technicians and The Alpha Conspiracy. The Faint is not the most original group among these neo-'80's or '80s-inspired acts. Their sound is at times similar to the sound of Les Rytmes Digitales and thus largely based on Human League's (later period) synth-oriented dance music. Songs like Glass Danse, and Let The Poison Spill From Your Throat, sound much like tracks from the Darkdancer album by Les Rythmes Digitales. The Faint, nonetheless, do what they do very well and thus deliver some nice (dance) tunes.

Danse Macabre also contains a few songs that have a sound more of their own. Suicide Agenda, for example, opens the album as a synth pop song that is quite vicious and punky. Other highlights are Posed To Death, which is a bit reminiscent of Adam And The Ants, and Your Retro Career Melted, a moody, mid-tempo song which hints at the self-conscious mockery of the neo-'80s hype. The best track is The Conductor, with great changes in tempo and a dark, almost gothic-like melody to it. This album is a must-have for '80s and neo-'80s diehard fans only — other people could just do without it. There are some good songs on it, but overall it is not that exciting. This is just a fun album; nothing more, nothing less.