The Faint is an American dance-punk band from Omaha, Nebraska. They are members of the Saddle Creek Records collective. Founded in 1995 as Norman Bailer by vocalist Todd Fink, drummer Clark Baechle, and multi-instrumentalist Joel Petersen, the project briefly featured Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst before solidifying its lineup and touring alongside labelmates.

History

Early years as Norman Bailer (1995–1997)

Todd Fink, Clark Baechle, and Joel Petersen formed the project in Omaha in 1995 and performed briefly as Norman Bailer. The trio spent much of its youth skateboarding until Fink's knee problems redirected their energy toward songwriting.

Matt Bowen joined for the debut album Media, then Jacob Thiele replaced him in late 1998, while Ethan Jones briefly handled bass duties.

Jones left as the group developed Danse Macabre, so Petersen split his time between bass and guitar while new member Dapose added a heavier guitar presence. The group expanded its touring production during this period, pairing tightly synchronized electronics with a high-intensity light show. "The Geeks Were Right" led the release cycle, and a North American co-headlining tour with Ladytron supported the album. Baechle and Fink simultaneously pursued remix work and DJ sets under the Depressed Buttons name. After regrouping, the band issued a new full-length in 2014, titled Doom Abuse, writing and recording quickly to emphasize a rawer, faster sound before returning to headlining tours. Saddle Creek issued a deluxe edition of Danse Macabre on October 30, 2012 with remastering, outtakes, and archival video, and the band toured North America performing the album in full.

Return, Egowerk, and reissues (2016–present)

Following their independent period, The Faint returned to Saddle Creek Records for subsequent releases and reissues. In 2016 the band released the retrospective Capsule:1999-2016, which included the new track "Young and Realistic", and toured with Gang of Four.

In March 2025 they released a twenty-fifth anniversary deluxe edition of Blank-Wave Arcade alongside a twentieth anniversary edition of Wet from Birth, each packaged with remasters, remixes, and archival recordings. The band described the reissues as a chance to recontextualize the turn of the century albums and to circulate period-specific extras alongside newly remastered audio.

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|-

|1995

| Sine Sierra (as Norman Bailer)

  • Released: 1995
  • Label: Lumberjack
  • Formats: cassette (CS)

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| align="center" | —

|-

|1998

| Media

  • Released: 1998
  • Label: Saddle Creek
  • Format: CD

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| align="center" | —

|-

|1999

| Blank-Wave Arcade

  • Released: November 1, 1999
  • Label: Saddle Creek
  • Format: CD, LP

| align="center" | —

| align="center" | —

|-

|2001

| Danse Macabre

  • Released: August 21, 2001
  • Label: Saddle Creek
  • Format: CD, LP

| align="center" | —

| align="center" | —

|-

|2004

| Wet from Birth

  • Released: September 14, 2004
  • Label: Saddle Creek
  • Format: CD, LP

| align="center" | 99

| align="center" | 9

|-

|2008

| Fasciinatiion

  • Released: August 5, 2008
  • Label: blank.wav
  • Format: CD, 2-LP

| align="center" | 46

| align="center" | 6

|-

|2014

| Doom Abuse

  • Released: April 8, 2014
  • Label: SQE Music
  • Format: CD, 2-LP

| align="center" | 199

| align="center" | 30

|-

|2019

| Egowerk

  • Released: March 15, 2019
  • Label: Saddle Creek
  • Format: CD, LP

| align="center" | —

| align="center" | 26

|}

Remix albums

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Year

! Album details

|-

|2000

|Blank-Wave Arcade Remixes

  • Released: May 29, 2000
  • Labels: Saddle Creek , Blood Of The Young Records –
  • Format: LP

|-

|2003

|Danse Macabre Remixes

  • Released: April 1, 2003
  • Labels: Astralwerks
  • Format: CD, 3-LP

|}

Compilation albums

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Year

! Album details

|-

|2016

|CAPSULE:1999-2016

  • Released: September 30, 2016
  • Label: Saddle Creek
  • Format: CD, 2-LP/7"

|}

EPs

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Year

! Album details

|-

|2001

|Mote/Dust

  • Released: 2001
  • Label: Gold Standard Laboratories
  • Format: 12-inch

|-

|2012

|Evil Voices

  • Released: November 2012
  • Label: Self-Released
  • Format: 12-inch
  • Note: Sold on tour, also available in the deluxe vinyl edition of Doom Abuse

|-

|2019

|This Never Happened

  • Released: 2019
  • Label: Self-Released
  • Format: CD
  • Note: Sold during the 2019 tour

|}

Singles

Retail singles

{|class="wikitable"

!Year

!Single

!Label

!Album

|-

|2002

|"Agenda Suicide"

| City Slang

|rowspan="2"|Danse Macabre

|-

|rowspan="2"|2003

|"The Conductor"

| City Slang

|-

|"Agenda Suicide" (remixes)

| Astralwerks

| Danse Macabre Remixes

|-

|2004

|"I Disappear"

|Saddle Creek

|rowspan="2"|Wet from Birth

|-

|2004

|"Desperate Guys"

|Saddle Creek

|-

|2008

|"The Geeks Were Right"

|Boysnoize

|rowspan="2"|Fasciinatiion

|-

|2009

|"Mirror Error"

|Boysnoize

|}

Promotional singles

{|class="wikitable"

!Year

!Single

!Label

!Album

|-

|1997

| Norman Bailer

| Saddle Creek

| Media

|-

|2004

| "Southern Belles In London Sing"

| Saddle Creek

| Wet From Birth

|}

Splits

  • Music Me All Over (split 7-inch) (as Norman Bailer) (Rolling Hill Records and Lumberjack)
  • The Faint/Ex-Action Figures (split 7-inch) (1999, Saddle Creek)

Remixes

  • Radio 4 - Dance to the Underground (2002 · City Slang)
  • Joy Electric - We Are Rock (2002 · BEC Recordings)
  • Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Y Control (2004 · Interscope Records / Polydor Records)
  • Nine Inch Nails - Meet Your Master (2007)

Compilation appearances

  • Nothing Left Fanzine No.&nbsp;8 CD Sampler (1998)
  • Song: "Acting: On Campus Television"
  • Messages: Modern Synthpop Artists Cover OMD (2001 · Ninthwave)
  • Song: "Enola Gay"
  • Saddle Creek 50 (2002 · Saddle Creek)
  • Songs: "Worked Up So Sexual", "Take Me to the Hospital"
  • Liberation: Songs to Benefit PETA (2003 · Fat Wreck Chords)
  • Song: "Agenda Suicide"
  • Lagniappe: A Saddle Creek Benefit for Hurricane Katrina (2005 · Saddle Creek)
  • Song: "Hypnotised"
  • Injustice: Gods Among Us Soundtrack (2013 · WaterTower Music)
  • Song: "This Is Is Is Is Pain"

==Other projects== <!-- Anchor to redirect [Vverevvolf Grehv]; caution. -->

Vverevvolf Grehv

Vverevvolf Grehv (pronounced as Werewolf Grave) is the brainchild of Dapose. The music of Vverevvolf Grehv combines the brutality of death metal, the tempos of speed metal and the sonic decimation of noise with the complexities of electronic music genres such as snare rush and IDM. He is influenced by Merzbow’s work, the writings of Howard Bloom, and numerous classical composers.

;Albums

  • Zombie Aesthetics - Relapse Records 2008

Broken Spindles

Broken Spindles was a band solely consisting of Joel Petersen of Omaha, Nebraska, who also played bass, guitar and keyboards in The Faint. Their music ranged from instrumental electronic songs to sparse piano pieces to rock-influenced pop songs. Broken Spindles originally started in 2001 as the soundtrack for a friend's film.

See also

  • Broken Spindles

References

  • The Faint on FreeIndie