Fasciinatiion - Dark Publications

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Product Description
The Faint are set to release their first album in four years ''Fasciinatiion'' through their own, newly-formed label, blank.wav. ''Fasciinatiion'', The Faint's fifth album, is the first in the band's ten-year history to be written, recorded, produced, art directed and released entirely on their own. ''Fasciinatiion'' is an album that draws on many defining facets of The Faint's sound, while remaining completely different from anything else they've put out. A record whose themes include predictions and the future, tabloid culture, the allure of what may never be, childhood lost and more, ''Fasciinatiion'' sounds as if it's been beamed in from a satellite whose sole purpose is observing, and making sense of, the details of every day existence. In certain ways, the album is the most mechanical and precise of the band's work: The vocals sounds less human than ever before; the bass lines are more mangled, keyboards spiral and squeal out of control; electronic pings and stabs invade the melodies; the lyrical anxiety and disdain of previous albums pervades almost every song on ''Fasciinatiion''. Opener ''Get Seduced'' is The Faint at their best, the song's critique of celebrity culture matched with one of the finest choruses they've ever written. First single, ''The Geeks Were Right'', draws on the tenets of futurist literature and sliding, siren-call guitars. ''Fulcrum and Lever'' marries ambient noise with space references, alienation and a stuttering, flexing beat, while ''Mirror Error'' explores identity and consciousness within its perfect, propulsive electro-pop. Closer ''A Battle Hymn for Children'' flinches with nervous rhythms against resentment of the future to be inherited and keyboards that sound like flailing voices (or is it flailing voices that sound like keyboards? On ''Fasciinatiion'', one can never tell).

Album Description
The Faint releasein 2008 their first album in four years "Fasciinatiion" through their own, newly-formed label, blank.wav. Fasciinatiion is The Faint's fifth album,and it is the first in the band's ten-year history to be written, recorded, produced, art directed and released entirely on their own. Fasciinatiion is an album that draws on many defining facets of The Faint's sound, while remaining completely different from anything else they've put out. A record whose themes include predictions and the future, tabloid culture, the allure of what may never be, childhood lost and more, Fasciinatiion sounds as if it's been beamed in from a satellite whose sole purpose is observing, and making sense of, the details of every day existence.

Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

The Faint raised the bar again August 6, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful

Wow. Its been a long four years. The Faint usually make their fans wait a while for their 9-10 track 30 min albums of infectious new wave rock. Ever since Blank-Wave Arcade, that wait has never been more worth it. Fasciinatiion raises the bar for all the carbon-copy emo-esque electronic dance bands out there that all sound the same and concentrate more on image than music.

Fasciinatiion simply bleeds with synthesizer madness. There are more insane blips and beeps and analog electronic goodness packed into this album than Duran Duran and Depeche Mode in a blender. Joel's funky bass is ever-present on tracks like Get Seduced and Pyscho. Todd's vocals are even more synthesized than before (see Fulcrum & Lever and Battle Hymn For Children). The best songs on the album are Machine In The Ghost, which is probably the most insane song on the album. Also, Forever Growing Centipedes, which sounds 20 years older than it actually is. In fact, other than the fact that this album sounds super-glossy, Fasciinatiion will really please fans of old school new wave. The Faint have never sounded this retro and I think its cool. I don't see how fans of Danse Macabre or Wet From Birth (a hard album to top) wouldnt enjoy this. I just saw The Faint live and they played half of Fasciinatiion live and proved that these songs hold up for repeated listens. Other cool highlights include the moaning chorus of Mirror Error and the funked-out guitar on Geeks Were Right. Also, the cd and its digipak were made from 100% recycled material. Hows that for do-it-yourself.

Anyway, to make a long story short if you are a fan of the band then you must get this because it is another wonderful album that is the fourth in a series of fantastic releases from the band. Also check out Broken Spindles, which is bass player Joel Peterson's band.

Great record. Buy it.

4 out of 5 stars

3.5 Stars... Where is the fascination? September 2, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I've been a huge fan of the Faint since their 2001 break-out album "Dance Macabre" (can it really have been that long already?). After a remix album of that, the Omaha, NE band came back in 2004 with "Wet From Birth", which was good but not at the same level as "Dance Macabre" for me. Now, after a long break, finally comes the band's 5th studio album.

"Fasciinatiion" (10 tracks, 35 min.) starts off with a tentative "Get Seduced". The album really gets into high gear with "The Geeks Were Right", which surprisingly features electric guitars upfront in the mix, but a great song altogether. "Machine in the Ghost" is equally entrancing, even if it isn't very danceable. In fact, not a lot songs on here are danceable. There are a lot of mid-tempo electronic-needling tracks such as "Fulcrum and Lever" and "I Treat You Wrong". "Mirror Error" is my favorite track on here, an up-tempo track that bursts with energy.

But overall, this album is somewhat of a let-down. After a 4 year break from "Wet From Birth", the band still seems to wanna decide where it really wants to go. A lot of the songs feel tentative. This is not a bad listen (and at 35 min. it clips by in no time) but in comparison to the sublime "Dance Macabre", this album falters.

4 out of 5 stars

Doesn't disappoint--catchy and intelligent August 5, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful

On their last album, 2004's Wet From Birth, The Faint wore their influences on their sleeve (which is not meant as a criticism of that excellent album). But if you've seen them live, you know they have a style of their own. On Fasciinatiion, they further define their musical style. But don't worry--everything here is just as danceable as anything they've ever done (with the exception of "Fulcrum and Lever," a poignant and poetic narrative about trying to learn to fly at the age of nine and ending up with a broken limb).

But Fasciinatiion is more than just a collection of catchy tunes. Half of the tracks explore the deepest ideas in philosophy and science. "Machine In The Ghost," for instance, is a sort of agnostic's anthem (and my personal favorite track), about the senselessness of arbitrary cosmological speculation, be it by theoretical astrophysicists or the pope. It begins: "There's no ghost in this machine, I make my own mistakes / We seem like skeletons with bonehead beliefs / History's been crucified, humans supernaturalized / We hope we're not alone." "The Geeks Were Right," the album's first single, is about a future in which biotechnology is used to modify human beings: "Egghead boys with thin white legs / have got modified features and software brains / but that's what the girls like... / The geeks were right." This theme is revisited on "Forever Growing Centipedes," a song that manages to sound both retro and futuristic at the same time with its 80s-era video games-inspired effects: "I could take up science and study cells of the body / Learn to postpone death under the microscope" ... "We could both grow up to be a hundred and fifty" ... "We'll see how long we can hide from death." But the song is primarily about (of all things) the many-possible-universes interpretation of quantum physics and human volition. "Mirror Error" is a refutation of the idea that consciousness creates reality by means of pointing out how many people are unhappy with the way they look. And "Fish In A Womb" is inspired, I take it, by evolutionary recapitulation--specifically, the fact that all vertebrates (including humans) have gill slits at some point during their embryonic development.

Not all of these issues are treated 100% correctly, such as their repitition in "Machine In The Ghost" of the conventional view that "cults arise from egos"--in actual fact, no one with a healthy ego would ever join a cult, or start one for that matter. (I imagine, on the other hand, that one would have to have a healthy ego to be in a successful band, though there are exceptions such as that sniveling neurotic Bono, who has a lot in common with the typical cult leader.) And in some cases The Faint seem to be saying that they don't know the answers, while in others they just use the issue as a jumping off point to go in fun and weird directions. But in any case, this is pretty heady material for a popular band to treat in their songs.

Of course, not all of the songs are so brainy. The rest deal with more conventional subjects, such as an examination of celebrity culture and the paparazzi on the hard-driving "Get Seduced," fighting with your lover and saying things you don't mean on the ridiculously catchy "Psycho" or the need to convince them that you're right and not being able to drop the subject on "I Treat You Wrong," to the pscyhological effects on its citizens of a culture that glorifies violence and jingoism on the politically-charged "A Battle Hymn For Children."

Most of The Faint's fans will enjoy Fasciinatiion primarily on the level of interesting, catchy, danceable songs, and there's nothing wrong with that as it certainly offers plenty of those. But for the thinking listener, it offers more. Whether you're a long-time fan or have never heard of The Faint before, you should definitely check out Fasciinatiion.

5 out of 5 stars

THE FAINT IS BACK.... FORGET THE KILLERS OR THE BRAVERY August 7, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful

I love the Faint. It's been so long since "Wet From Birth", I was eagerly awaiting this release. If you're a Faint fan, some of the new material might shock you, but in a few listens, you'll be sold. I got this the day it came out and have listened to it about 6 times, excluding the pre- My Space release. The best part is, I heard the cd on my space, but when I got the cd, naturally, the bleeps and clicks were a whole lot cleaner and crisper on the cd. Here's observations I've made...

GET SEDUCED - Wow! They pulled out the "wet" cranky distortion knob from "Phone Call" and it has that ghostly keyboard effect that just lingers. A great opener. Todd "Fink" has a very distinct voice that features that "Hook in the Mouth" line, that was a staple visual performance piece on the "Wet From Birth" tour.

THE GEEKS WERE RIGHT - Dapose starts it up and the song has that Duran Duran gone sleazy bass line.

MACHINE IN THE GHOST - Initially I hated this song. It starts as a very early Depeche Mode 1982 type song, but after a few listens, grows on you. Very "Thompson Twin-ish" The Chorus is so awesome. The first is only a taste. The second chorus extends a little and I almost beat out a sun roof listening to it in my car. The cornucopia of magic, religion, and science make the lyrics extremely interesting.

MACHINE IN THE GHOST - Submerged deep in bass... you quickly feel underneath the thick choking bass... the lingering keyboard keeps you on track, but you feel like you go through several click and beep tunnels.....

PYCHO - Has that "Drop Kick the Punks" vibe, but more cheerful..... chorus reminds me of some of "The Cars" Panorama era stuff... very awesome song.

MIRROR ERROR - Never has the Faint sounded like the Faint so much before...... One of the best songs on the CD, has the "Blank-Wave Arcade" vibe, but dark none the less....

I TREAT YOU WRONG - Nine Inch Nails meets Radiohead with John Taylor type bass and Todd Fink on vocals.......

The rest of the CD is just as good!
Go BUY IT!

5 out of 5 stars

Fasciination with this album August 5, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful

It's now been over 4 years since Wet from Birth, an excellent follow up to the seminal Dance Macabre, and finally The Faint fans have a new album to satiate our hunger. I'll say it right off the bat, this is not new ground they are breaking, in contrary its nearly the same game plan they used on Wet from Birth. That being said, it works. This very danceable, party friendly album is a great addition to this year's decent music year so far.

The album has the hallmark's of Todd Fink's obscure, introspective lyrics on really anything from childhood experiences, politics, and relationships, accompanied with catchy electronic beats and sparse guitar riffs. The standout track for me upon first listen has been "fulcrum and lever" which seems to come right out of a rap album. The beat is infectious, the bass good, and the delivery perfect, I wouldn't be surprised if this beat is sampled in a song by Young Jeezy or Lil Wayne. The first single that most have heard already, "the Geeks were Right" falls pretty much in format with past singles and preaches a cautionary view of technology in the future. "Psycho" seems a lot like "drop kick the punks" to me, at least in pacing and is about the narrator pleading to a girlfriend that he's going to change and didn't mean to call her psycho and what not. "A battle hymn for children" is the closer and sounds to me like an Of Montreal song at first, then switches right back to Faint material. Sounds of bubbles and possibly beeps go off in the background while he talks about political ideals and indoctrination that are instilled early on in school.

Overall, I am happy with this album. I have been eagerly awaiting since Wet From Birth, thus this greatly is halting my Faint withdrawals. New fans of The Faint may want to check out past releases to ease in to this type of music, but to the old fans, they will fall right back into this kaleidoscope of sound and embrace it. Happy listening.

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