The Faint: Danse Macabre Remixes : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Nothing about the Faint makes any sense, and that just makes them better. A formerly slouchy indie-rock band from Omaha, Nebraska, that turned itself into a shockingly accurate replication of nearly everything great about early Eighties dance rock, the Faint fashion a frenzy that you can't fake. Their 2001 album Danse Macabre is rife with sharp social commentary, omnipresent hooks, mosh-disco beats and drama for days.

Macabre was so sick with hit-worthy songs that it generated this equally vicious remix set. Although most mixes minimize the band's New Wave essence, Ursula 1000 slashes "Your Retro Career Melted" with Gang of Four-like guitars, while Tommie Sunshine's reinterpretation of "Let the Poison Spill From Your Throat" pounds out delightfully stiff New Order rhythms -- and all mercifully retain the original melodies. Against all odds, this is what a remix album should be.

BARRY WALTERS
(From RS 924, June 12, 2003)