• Reviews

• All
• Music
• DVDs
• Live
• Cinema
• TV
• Books
• Comic Books
• Video Games

Dec 07, 2012 Web Exclusive By Austin Trunick

It feels like the only purpose many deluxe editions serve is to remind you that you’re getting old; too often they lack significant reasons to double-dip on records that many fans already—or should already—own. That’s thankfully not the case for The Faint’s best effort, Danse Macabre, which turns 12 next year—it can’t really be that old, can it?—and has now gotten the retrospect treatment.

The album’s dance rock sounds just as urgent now as it did then. The subject matter is, well, macabre, but it’s tongue-in-cheek. The sterility innate in much synth-and-drum-machine-driven music is washed aside by the immediacy in Todd Fink’s vocals. It’s hard not to be moved to groove by the record’s pulsing beats. Just try not to bob your head to “Agenda Suicide” or “Glass Danse.” You won’t be able to do it.

Disc two packs the relevant B-sides and remixes, but the additional DVD holds the best Danse ephemera. It features background projections, a music video, and a short film highlighting behind-the-scene movies and a clip from one of the band’s cramped, energetic basement shows. A dense booklet of lyrics, photos, and all-new liner notes rounds out this very worthy reissue. (www.thefaint.com)

Author rating: 8.5/10