Opening with a chunky bass-line and a buzzing guitar riff before the pounding techno beat kicks in, it’s an electronic head-rush down dark and narrow alleyways. While the basic synthetic elements remain in place throughout, they possess a diversity of sound that sees them switch from the depraved industrial goth of Nine Inch Nails to the lighter electro pop of New Order. ‘Your Retro Career’ -an oblique reference to themselves perhaps -has an intense, driving chorus that’s like Daft Punk on a bad trip, while ‘Posed To Death’ is a pogo-happy, two-tone jaunt reminiscent of The Clash. As the record progresses it gets darker and grimmer, reaching a bleak climax with ‘Violent’, a tale of loan sharks and thuggery set to a backdrop of mournful cellos and Aphex Twin-style distorted broken beats.

Yet there’s something very theatrical about The Faint, as evidenced in their fantastic live show. Their short career has seen them try their hand at a range of genres and you sense that the gothic synths and the grisly imagery of the excellent ‘Let The Poison Spill From Your Throat’, rub off as easily as black eyeliner. But for now The Faint wear them well.

words: Colm Larkin