The Faint performs tonight at 9:30 Club. There was the alt-rock grunge of the early to mid-’90s. Ten or fifteen years later, the New Wave revival’s dance-rock sound exploded most famously with LCD Soundsystem and The Killers, but also with The Bravery, The Rapture and others. A band that connects these two periods is The Faint, hailing from Omaha, Nebraska. Their music has the electronic underpinnings and a driving rhythm section to get people moving, but there is also a world weary darkness that comes with a post-punk aesthetic.
“I’m not sure if we are the bridge necessarily but we use elements of both worlds,” said Clark Baechle, The Faint’s drummer. “It’s always hard to try to classify your own band into a specific genre. I feel like as soon as you do, you’re limiting your options. I usually just tell people we are a rock band that uses a lot of synthesizers.”
Baechle — along with mates Todd Fink, Jacob Thiele, Dapose and Joel Petersen — will be performing tonight at 9:30 Club. They are on the road in support of their new album, Doom Abuse, the band’s first release since 2008’s Fasciinatiion. The group felt burned out after touring behind that album and decided to go on an extended hiatus. They reconvened in the fall of 2012 when their breakout album, 2001’s critically acclaimed Danse Macabre, was re-released. The Faint visited 24 cities, playing the album in its entirety. Last spring, the band went back into the studio to record a four-song vinyl EP that became the blueprint for Doom Abuse.
“To me this record feels like a bit of a reset,” Baechle said, and Doom Abuse definitely feels like The Faint is trying to recapture the vitality of its earlier recordings. The beats are definitely there, but there is also a lot of social commentary happening in the lyrics. The sometimes despondent world view feels somewhat heavy handed at times, but it doesn’t weigh down the groove.
“We tried to capture the feel of old punk records but mix those tones with newer hifi sounds as well,” Baechle explained. “We wanted this record to sound raw and crappy, but also sound good loud.”
Much of The Faint’s success over its nearly two-decade long career is the strength of its live show. Tonight’s set list will include material from nearly all of the group’s albums. Creative staging adds to the experience’s energy and intensity. All of these components have been part of the band’s approach since the early days.
“We started out in basements using garden lights that we controlled with foot pedals. At the time, it seemed pretty ridiculous to set up a light show in someone’s basement but I think people always had fun and remembered the show,” Baechle said. “As we’ve moved to bigger venues our mentality is the same we just use better equipment that will work in bigger rooms.”
The Faint will perform tonight at 9:30 Club with openers Suuns and Darren Keen. 7 p.m. doors. Tickets $20.
