Preview: Get Lost in the Strobe Lights with The Faint

Concert Preview: The Faint w/Gang of Four and Pictureplane
Showbox, Seattle, WA
10.25.16

There are a million reasons to be stoked about The Faint‘s upcoming live set at The Showbox in Seattle, but our favorite is that with the release of this month’s career-spanning compilation album Capsule: 1999-2016, the show promises to be a hot night of dance-punk memories.

While they’ve maintained a somewhat cult-y status throughout their 20 year history, the band have been pioneers of mixing EDM and punk into a synth-laden, post-hardcore ball of dance floor-ready fun. It’s dark and light, and proudly walks the line. The Omaha, Nebraska-based quartet has gone back to original Saddle Creek label for the release, which includes 16 of their best tracks, along with three new ones.

The three new tracks are reminiscent of 2001’s Danse Macabre wheelhouse, the sweet spot between doom and dance floor, with glitchy, feverish synths. And it probably has something to do with three of The Faint’s band members dabbling in DJ duties and the group constantly remixes other artists’ work, making them experts of hitting the mark that will make people move. Check out the latest track “ESP” below.

Their latest video, for striking dance track “Young & Realistic,” is full of looping bizarre scenarios, with glitchy graphics and it feels like a brand new sound, while harkening the heyday of The Faint’s post-punk experimentalism. It’s unsettling and yet you’ll find yourself bobbing your head before you know it.