The Faint and Choir Boy
Omaha cyberpunk rockers the Faint were taking electrogoth to the dance floor years before latterday copycats such as the Killers and Franz Ferdinand, mainly thanks to their defining masterwork Danse Macabre. They’ll soon drop a new album, Egowerk (due March 15 via Saddle Creek Records), so far preceded by three singles that sound for all the world like what John Connor must hear in his head while blowing up Terminators. Spinning all three back to back – “Alien Angel,” “Chameleon Nights,” and “Child Asleep” – is like being forced to navigate the technological minefield of Netflix’s Twilight Zonian thriller Black Mirror. Storytelling lyrics unfold increasingly darkwave dirges of social media gone horribly wrong in a world full of egomaniacs who can only consume, and never create. “Egowerk’s focus is on the current social state of the internet,” says singer Todd Fink in advance press for the album. “An amazing world of free knowledge, communication, and opportunity is proving to be a toxic battleground. One where the people most sure of their opinion are quick to take a stand and destroy anyone who doesn’t agree with them…I’d like to see people less convinced that they’re right about everything all the time.” The Faint doesn’t swing through San Diego very often – the last time was in 2016 with Gang of Four – so it’s nice to see the Egowerk support tour is basically kicking off at Observatory North Park on May 5 (after a warmup date in Phoenix). The bill includes Fink’s side band Closeness, which features his wife Orenda (of Omaha rockers Azure Ray), along with Salt Lake City synth-pop rockers Choir Boy.