Friday 29/08/08 The Faint @ Cargo, London

The Faint burst on stage with new album determination, opening this sold out show in Shoreditch’s heartland with ‘Agenda Suicide’ from their third LP. It does not disappoint. Pounding, dirty, sexy and delightful, The Faint are back with a bang. Bang. Bang. Distorted guitars. And another bang.

Showcasing new tracks from August’s ‘Fasciinatiion’ is what tonight is all about, but it’s when they return to tracks from breakthrough album ‘Danse Macabre’ that the dirty dance beats they do best shake Cargo to its underground core. That’s not to say Fasciinatiion’s offerings don’t go down well, they do, but the seriousness that arrives in The Faint’s fifth LP, does not deliver quite the same stage dynamite that early offerings demand.

The distorted dirty basslines of ‘Worked Up So Sexual’ from 1999’s ‘Blank-Wave Arcade’, have a uniqueness that beats new single ‘The Geeks Are Alright’ hands down. And the audience love...it.

Moist, yes you heard me right, moist, does not even begin to describe the indoor weather climate under the east end arches, and The Faint lap it up. A simple, but befitting the electro pop ethos of the Nebraskans, set of images illuminates the backdrop, and the long set list is near faultless. The Faint sure know how to deliver.