Giving your back catalogue an orchestral rework has become the thing to do of late, be it using classical musicians as a bolster for a full band performance such as the farewell live A-HA shows at the Royal Albert Hall, or the recent performances by the likes of COVENANT, VNV NATION or OOMPH as part of the Gothic Meets Classics concerts where synths are replaced by wood, brass and strings.
Another band that performed on the GMC stage were MESH whose recently released ‘Live at Neues Gewandhaus Leipzig’ shows how well electronically realised songs can transfer over to an Orchestral setting.
The melding of pop/rock and classical performers is nothing new of course. From DEEP PURPLE and the Royal Philharmonic at the Royal Albert Hall (a performance that was famously conducted by Malcolm Arnold who on hearing that the classical musicians were being ‘sniffy’ towards their rock brethren told them they weren’t fit to tie Purple’s “f*cking bootlaces…”) to the ill advised ELP US orchestral tour of the USA, many have made the foray into placing their songs under the baton.
One musician who has worked with large orchestral groups over the years is Midge Ure. In the past, he has performed with the likes of SCHILLER to spectacular effect live on ‘Let it Rise’ and with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra at the Ryder Cup concert where ‘Vienna’ brought the house down. He has also played a number of the Night Of The Proms shows over the years, so is no stranger to working and reworking material in this setting.
So to his latest release, ‘Orchestrated’, a collection of ULTRAVOX and solo career songs arranged by the composer Ty Unwin, who’s work will be familiar to anyone that has watched a BBC documentary over the last 10 years. A graduate of Huddersfield University, which fittingly is in Billy Currie’s hometown, Unwin has assisted Ure in bringing out the drama and at times hidden depths in a group of familiar songs.
Opening with a sweeping ‘Hymn’, the album quickly sets out its stall. The arrangements on all the pieces are pretty much as on the original recordings which is sensible, as an album like this can become a hard sell if presented more esoterically.
Few could argue that the music of ULTRAVOX and to an extent Ure as a solo artist doesn’t drip with drama and this is shown to immediate effect on ‘Hymn’ with the tension of the original maintained throughout.
Next is one of my standouts on the album, ‘Dancing With Tears in My Eyes’. I will admit this track is one of my least favourite ULTRAVOX releases, I always thought that at least one other track on ‘Lament’ would have made a better single (more of which later…) but here, it is quite frankly spectacular. Slowed down and driven by a plaintive piano, Ure’s voice is dripping in sadness and regret that the original rockier setting didn’t allow.
On the subject of Midge’s vocal… he has frankly never sounded better. Always ‘some chanter’ as we say in Glasgow, his vocal now has a depth and richness that many of his peers would kill to have. As a front man, Ure always favoured letting his talent do the talking without resorting ‘rockstar’ histrionics and few can hold a candle to the voice he now has, irrespective of age or stadium filling ability.
The arrangement on ‘Breathe’ with be familiar to anyone that has seen the acoustic tours undertaken of late. ‘Man of Two Worlds’, the track I alluded to as being a more suitable UK single release from ‘Lament’, goes for the full cinematic treatment with sweeping strings and romantic underpinning to the female vocal coda.
‘If I Was’ and ‘Vienna’ are here because they are expected to be and these versions add little to the originals and I’m still not sure about the guitar soloing on the later as opposed to Billy’s viola, but the original is so iconic nothing is going to replace its power and beauty.
‘The Voice’ gallops along wonderfully and highlights clearly those classical influences Billy Currie brought to ULTRAVOX with the familiar themes in this song still recognisable performed by a different set of instrumentation. ‘Ordinary Man’ is the only new song on the album and wouldn’t be out of place in a West End musical.
Like the 2014 ‘Fragile’ album show that Ure still has songwriting chops a plenty in an age where a six minute plod can be hailed as an epic/classic from other artists, he grabs the opportunity presented by the setting. It will be interesting to see if in the future he flips this into an electronic band arrangement.
Next my favourite track on the album, a spectacular reworking of ‘(I Remember) Death in the Afternoon’ from ‘Rage In Eden’. Building from a swirling string part the driving synthesised throb of the original is replicated easily by cellos and basses. The rock drums are retained which means this version needs to be played loud!
‘Lament’ actually adds a bass synth and follows the original’s template as does ‘Reap The Wild Wind’, before closer ‘Fragile’ brings the album to marvellous close with a signature Ure guitar solo reminding us of his and the song’s rock roots.
‘Orchestrated’ as noted earlier sensibly both keeps it familiar and allows Unwin free rein to work the songs into at times memorable versions. This is clearly not the sound of an artist who is either releasing a career end quick buck maker or who has run out of ideas. A recommended release and I didn’t even miss those ARP solos, well not that much…
‘Orchestrated’ is released by BMG in CD and digital formats
MIDGE URE’s Band Electronica’ will be the special guest of THE HUMAN LEAGUE on the following 2018 dates:
Southend Cliffs Pavilion (21st November), Brighton Centre (23rd November), Manchester Arena (24th November), Glasgow SEC Armadillo (25th November), New Castle City Hall (27th November), Cambridge Corn Exchange (28th November), Bournemouth BIC Winter Hall (30th November), Birmingham Arena (1st December), Cardiff Motorpoint Arena (2nd December), Leicester De Montfort Hall ( 4th December), Nottingham Royal Concert Hall (5th December), Sheffield Fly DSA Arena (7th December), London Hammersmith Apollo (8th December)
Midge Ure needs no introduction as one of the UK’s most highly regarded songwriters and musicians.
Best known for his involvement in ULTRAVOX’s ‘Vienna’, voted “the UK’s favourite No2 of all time” in a BBC Radio2 poll in 2013, the diminutive Glaswegian first found fame as the front man of SLIK. Their single ‘Forever & Ever’ became a UK No1 in 1975 and turned Ure briefly into a teen idol while the band had their own comic strip in Look-In magazine.
Luckily, SLIK could play their instruments and write their own material so in 1977 under the name PVC2, they released ‘Put You In The Picture’ on Zoom Records, a punkish single that sold more than anything by SIMPLE MINDS during their tenure on the label.
Having become fascinated by KRAFTWERK when they hit the UK charts with ‘Autobahn’ in 1975, he purchased his first synth, a Yamaha CS50 in 1977. So when Ure joined RICH KIDS and met drummer Rusty Egan, it was to change the course of his career when he subsequently founded VISAGE and joined ULTRAVOX.
VISAGE had been started in 1978 by Ure and Egan as a project to make up for the shortage of suitable European styled electronic dance music to play at The Blitz Club where the latter was the resident DJ. Needing a front man, they turned its doorman Steve Strange to act as Pied Piper to the colourful clientele who were later to be dubbed the New Romantics. Ure would subsequently help to deliver the movement’s signature song ‘Fade To Grey’.
Others involved in VISAGE included MAGAZINE’s John McGeoch, Dave Formula and Barry Adamson but also crucially Billy Currie, taking a break to heal his wounds from a recently fragmented ULTRAVOX following the departure of leader John Foxx. At the suggestion of Egan, Ure joined the band and the rest is history.
Photo by Brian Griffin
The classic ULTRAVOX line-up of Ure, Billy Currie, Chris Cross and Warren Cann had a run of twelve consecutive Top 40 hits singles in the UK before they imploded due to good old fashioned musical and personal differences, in the wake of Ure’s parallel solo career and his charity work with the Band Aid Trust.
But Ure was always been happiest in the studio and during his first ULTRAVOX phase, he also produced tracks for FATAL CHARM, MODERN MAN and MESSENGERS as well as Ronny, Phil Lynott and Peter Godwin, all while working on the second VISAGE album ‘The Anvil’.
The last ten years have been particularly busy for Ure. A regular on the live circuit with his endearingly intimate acoustic gigs featuring career highlights in stripped back form, he also undertook a number of key musical collaborations with European producers. But his most high profile project was the reformation of the classic ULTRAVOX line-up in 2009.
Following the winding down of ULTRAVOX after an arena tour opening for SIMPLE MINDS in late 2013, Ure returned to the acoustic format for two live tours backed by INDIA ELECTRIC CO. But Autumn 2017 sees Ure returning to synthesizers and electric guitars with his BAND ELECTRONICA tour.
He said on his website: “I want to revisit some material that I’ve not really been able to perform with the recent acoustic line-up, so you can expect to hear songs that haven’t been aired for a while as well as the classics and a couple of surprises! I’ve really enjoyed touring with a band and now I want to expand back to a four piece and return to a more electronic based format”
With that in mind, here is a look back at the career of Midge Ure and his great adventure in electronic music via this twenty track Beginner’s Guide, arranged in chronological order and with a restriction of one track per album / project…
RICH KIDS Marching Men (1978)
Ousted from THE SEX PISTOLS, Glen Matlock offered Ure a place in his new power-pop combo RICH KIDS. An anti-Fascist anthem produced by the late Mick Ronson, ‘Marching Men’ was notable for Ure’s first use of his Yamaha CS50 on a recording, much to the dismay of Matlock. The band imploded with Matlock and Steve New thinking guitars were the way to go, while Ure and Rusty Egan felt it was electronics.
The first VISAGE demo of ‘In The Year 2525’ attracted the attention of producer Martin Rushent who wanted to release the collective’s music via his Genetic imprint through Radar Records. ‘Tar’ was a cautionary tale about smoking dominated by John McGeoch’s sax and Billy Currie’s ARP Odyssey. Alas, Radar Records had funding pulled from its parent company Warners just as the single was released, stalling any potential it had.
Available on the VISAGE album ‘Visage’ via Spectrum
It was testament to Conny Plank’s faith in the band that he continued to work with ULTRAVOX after John Foxx left. On ‘All Stood Still’, Ure put his live experience with THIN LIZZY to good use on this barrage of synth heavy metal about a nuclear holocaust. Driven by Chris Cross’ triggered Minimoog bass and Warren Cann’s powerhouse drums, the interplay between Ure’s guitar and Currie’s ARP Odyssey was awesome.
Available on the ULTRAVOX album ‘Vienna’ via EMI Music
Nottingham combo FATAL CHARM supported ULTRAVOX and OMD in 1980. Their excellent first single ‘Paris’ was produced by Ure and their sound could be seen reflecting the synth flavoured new wave template of the period. Singer Sarah Simmonds’ feisty passion gave a freshly charged sexual ambiguity to the long distance love story written in the days before the Channel Tunnel. Instrumentalist Paul Arnall said: “We were able to use Midge’s Yamaha synth which gave it his sound”.
Available on the FATAL CHARM album ‘Plastic’ via Fatal Charm
German music formed a large part of the music at The Blitz Club and even Irish rocker Phil Lynott frequented it. ‘Yellow Pearl’ was a LA DÜSSELDORF inspired co-composition with Ure, while Rusty Egan later played drums on the remix which became the ‘Top Of The Pops’ theme. A VISAGE track in all but name, ‘Yellow Pearl’ was so draped in the involvement of Ure and Egan that it was almost forgotten that this was the frontman of THIN LIZZY!
Available on the THIN LIZZY album ‘Greatest Hits’ via Universal Music
Co-produced by Conny Plank, with the Motorik thrust of NEU! and a marvellous symphonic pomp, ‘The Voice’ highlighted the creative tension that had now emerged between Ure and Chris Cross on one side, and Billy Currie on the other. Characterised by the swimmy Yamaha SS30 string machine, a magnificent ARP Odyssey solo and piano run was the icing on the cake. The song took on a life of its own in a concert setting with an extended closing percussive barrage.
Available on the ULTRAVOX album ‘Rage In Eden’ via EMI Records
It seemed business as usual with the second album ‘The Anvil’ and its launch single ‘The Damned Don’t Cry’. Very much in the vein of ‘Fade To Grey’, it was full of synthesized European romanticism. But with Steve Strange and Rusty Egan now finding success with their club ventures and ULTRAVOX becoming ever more popular, it was unsurprising that ‘The Anvil’ lacked the focus of its predecessor. Internally, things had gone awry and tensions with Egan led to Ure bidding adieu to VISAGE.
Available on the VISAGE album ‘The Anvil’ via Rubellan Remasters
MIDGE URE & CHRIS CROSS Rivets (1982 – released 1984)
Midge Ure and Chris Cross’ involvement in ‘Rivets’ came about when Levi’s® were about to launch their expensive new TV advertisment… an executive, unhappy with the soundtrack shouted “What we need on there is ‘Vienna’”! The campaign was a successful one and Ure was commissioned to submit music for the next commercial entitled ‘Threads’; however his ’633 Squadron’ inspired electronic tune was subjected to demands for rewrites by the paymasters so tired of the politics, Ure withdrew the track… that piece of music became ‘Love’s Great Adventure’. Levi’s® sponsored ULTRAVOX’s ‘Set Movements’ tour and ‘Rivets’ was part of a cassette that came with the souvenir programme!
Originally released on ULTRAVOX ‘Set Movements 1984 Interview’ cassette, currently unavailable
‘After A Fashion’ was a blistering sonic salvo that crossed the best of JAPAN’s rhythmical art muzak with ULTRAVOX’s ‘The Thin Wall’. However, it stalled at No39 in the UK singles charts and sadly, there was to be no album. But Mick Karn later played on ‘Remembrance Day’ in 1988 and Ure briefly joined JBK, the band formally known as JAPAN sans David Sylvian for an aborted project in 1992. Sadly Karn passed away in 2011 after losing his battle against cancer.
Available on the MIDGE URE album ‘No Regrets’ via EMI Gold
Glaswegian duo MESSENGERS were Danny Mitchell and Colin King whose only album ‘Concrete Scheme’ as MODERN MAN in 1980 was produced by Ure. The pair toured with ULTRAVOX as support during the ‘Quartet’ tour, as well as joining them on stage to augment their live sound. MESSENGERS’ debut single ‘I Turn In (To You)’ was also produced by Ure but criticised for being ULTRAVOX lite, although the song held its own with its dramatic widescreen passages.
Originally released as a single via Musicfest, currently unavailable
An electro Celtic melodrama in four and a half minutes, the magnificent ‘Man Of Two Worlds’ was the highlight from ULTRAVOX’s self-produced ‘Lament’ long player. Featuring an eerie female Gaelic vocal from Stock Aitken & Waterman backing vocalist Mae McKenna, the doomed romantic novel imagery capturing a feeling of solitude with haunting synths, programmed Motorik rhythms and manual funk syncopation was an unusual template, even for the period.
Available on the ULTRAVOX album ‘Lament’ via EMI Music
‘No Regrets’ had been a big solo hit in 1982 so with ULTRAVOX on break, Ure took a busman’s holiday and recorded his first solo album ‘The Gift’. A song demoed by Danny Mitchell of MESSENGERS for their aborted long player, while there was a big anthemic chorus and vibrant string synth interludes, ‘If I Was’ was a very different beast from ULTRAVOX in that this was a love song. Featuring LEVEL 42’s Mark King on bass, it became a UK No1 single.
Available on the MIDGE URE album ‘The Gift’ via EMI Music
Ure went back to basics with his ‘Out Alone’ tour in 1993 which featured acoustic renditions of his own songs and covers assisted by a pre-programmed keyboard. One song was Peter Green’s ‘Man of the World’, a bittersweet song about a man who has everything he wants, except love. A live recording ended up as a bonus track on the ‘Guns & Arrows’ single, but a studio version appeared on 2008’s ’10’ covers album.
Live version available on the MIDGE URE double album ‘Pure + Breathe’ via Edsel Records
For Jam El Mar and Mark Spoon’s attempt at a ‘pop’ album, the German dance duo featured vocals on all the tracks and among those recruited were Dolores O’Riordan of THE CRANBERRIES and SIMPLE MINDS’ Jim Kerr. For his return to full blown electronica, Midge Ure’s contribution ‘Something To Remind Me’ was big on beats. Recording coincided with the ‘Sampled Looped & Trigger Happy’ tour which saw Ure use a more technologically driven format for live shows.
X-PERIENCE Personal Heaven – Desert Dream radio mix (2007)
Thanks to his continued popularity in Germany, Ure was much in demand as a guest vocalist and was persuaded to record a song he had written with HEAVEN 17’s Glenn Gregory by dance production team X-PERIENCE. Duetting with Claudia Uhle, who provided her own sumptuous vocals to compliment the electronics and muted synthetic guitars, the punchy Desert Dream radio mix was particularly effective.
Named after the German poet and dramatist Friedrich Schiller, Christopher von Deylen’s domestically popular ambient electro project recruited Ure to sing on the dramatically widescreen ‘Let It Rise’; he said: “SCHILLER’s got his very own, very good and distinctive style which is much more of a laid back, trip-hop dance thing”. Ure revisited the track for his own ‘Fragile’ album in a more stripped back arrangement.
Available on the SCHILLER album ‘Atemlos’ via Universal Music
In 2009, the impossible happened and the classic line-up of ULTRAVOX reunited for the ‘Return To Eden’ tour. Things went well enough for a new album to be recorded and writing took place at Ure’s retreat in Canada, Produced by Stephen J Lipson, several of the tracks like ‘Live’ and ‘Satellite’ recalled former glories while with this take on Giorgio Moroder, the percolating sequences and rhythmic snap of ‘Rise’ could be seen a robotic 21st Century update of ‘The Thin Wall’.
Available on the ULTRAVOX album ‘Brilliant’ via EMI Music
LICHTMOND is an ambitious audio-visual project led by sound architects Giorgio and Martin Koppehele to “Experience Dreamlike Time”. Very progressive in its outlook with “A magic triangle of electronics, ethno and rock songs”, Ure featured on lead vocals and said on the album notes: “For me LICHTMOND is a unique combination of music, visuals and brilliant imagination. All coming together to make one great big piece of art. Enjoy it!”
Although Ure had been regularly touring and playing festivals, there was a gap of 14 years between the ‘Move Me’ and ‘Fragile’ long players. The ULTRAVOX reunion was the spark he needed to get his sixth solo album of original material finished. The lead single was ‘Become’, a romantic and less abrasive take on ‘After A Fashion’. With a danceable metronomic beat, it had a classic synthpop sound that Ure admitted he was “kind of harking back to early VISAGE”.
Available on the MIDGE URE album ‘Fragile’ via Hypertension Music
‘Glorious’ not only reunited our hero with Rusty Egan but also Chris Payne who co-wrote ‘Fade To Grey’; Ure said: “I liked the music, Chris Payne and Rusty had done a great job but I didn’t think the song / melody / lyrics were strong enough… I stripped the demo down to the basic track, edited it down into a more ‘song like’ format and started working on a glorious melody. I added the main melodic synth line and layered guitars over it, ending with the ‘hopefully’ uplifting solo over the outro”.
Midge Ure’s BAND ELECTRONICA 2017 live dates include:
Frankfurt Batschkapp (Sep 27), Munich Technikum (Sep 28), Cologne Kantine Kulturbetriebe GmbH (Sep 29), Bochum Zeche (Oct 01), Hamburg Gruenspan (Oct 03), Berlin Columbia Theater (Oct 04), Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (Oct 10), Liverpool Philharmonic Hall (Oct 11), Bournemouth Pavillion Theatre (Oct 13), Guildford G Live (Oct 14) , Milton Keynes Theatre (Oct 15), New Theatre Oxford (Oct 17), High Wycombe Swan Theatre (Oct 18), Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall (Oct 19), Skegness The Embassy (Oct 20), Edinburgh Playhouse (Oct 22), Dundee Caird Hall (Oct 23), Gateshead Sage (Oct 24), Manchester Opera House (Oct 25), Dartford Orchard (Oct 27), Basingstoke Anvil (Oct 28), Sheffield City Hall (Oct 29), Halifax Victoria Theatre (Oct 31), Buxton Opera House (Nov 01), Birmingham Town Hall (Nov 02), York Grand Opera House (Nov 03), Southport Theatre (Nov 04), Blackpool Grand Theatre (Nov 05), London Shepherds Bush Empire (Nov 07), Torquay Princess Theatre (Nov 08), Portsmouth Guildhall (Nov 09), Salisbury City Hall (Nov 10), Truro Hall for Cornwall (Nov 11), Nottingham Royal Concert Hall (Nov 14), Eastbourne Devonshire theatre (Nov 15), St Albans Arena (Nov 17)
Welcome Bienvenue Willkommen Benvenuto and Valkommen to ELECTRONIC CIRCUS…
Described as “A human cannonball of electronic sounds”, the project was co-founded by Chris Payne, the keyboard and viola virtuoso who was a member of Gary Numan’s band between 1979 to 1990. He notably co-wrote ‘Fade To Grey’ which became a huge international hit for VISAGE and more recently, he was involved in five songs for Rusty Egan and his ‘Welcome To The Dancefloor’ album which were sung by Midge Ure and Tony Hadley amongst others.
ELECTRONIC CIRCUS actually began life in 1981 with a single entitled ‘Direct Lines’, a release which found its way into bargain bins not long afterwards. But it has since gained cult status via a million views on a fan made YouTube video using an obscure Swedish art movie. Gathering together some of the original band including Paul Johnson Rogers, Tim Vince and Mike Stewart, Payne has put together a new four song EP inspired by ‘Direct Lines’ from his base near Rouen in France.
Reworked with vocals by Chris Payne’s wife Dominique and daughter Marikay, ‘Direct Lines 2017’ retains the frantic magic of the original and the fact that it sounds like it could have been written today is evidence of its longevity. The French Family Payne add a child-like pourquoi plea to proceedings on lyrics about the threat of nuclear war, a horrifying spectre that is looming today as the powers that be square off along the 38th Parallel… a superb synth solo accentuates the tension.
With a sombre air of remembrance, ‘In Red Fields of Flanders’ hauntingly remembers those lost in World War One; of course, the worrying thing is if World War Three happens, there won’t be any fields of any colour and no-one around to do any kind of remembering…
’The Trapeze’ is a brilliant neo-instrumental with electronic bass triplets and a symphonic theme that bursts with melody and musicality like ULTRAVOX galloping across the plains of Normandy. And when The French Family Payne join in for the final minute, it adds a wondrous tone of humanistic unity.
With his adopted home surroundings very much the backbone of the EP, the considerably lighter ‘Roundabout’ offers more authentic Gallic charm, courtesy of Dominique Payne.
The exquisite, almost naïve vocals over the most incessant synth riff will delight or irritate to the point of submission. But note that the seemingly banal words referencing driving are actually a very clever metaphor for midlife.
It is great that at this particular roundabout, Chris Payne has chosen electronic music again. The ‘Direct Lines’ EP is just the start. With an album on the way and a new electro-folk version of ‘Graceland’ too, ELECTRONIC CIRCUS are finally delivering on the promise that they first showed thirty six years ago.
From the ashes of ANALOG ANGEL come forth RAINLAND and their debut EP ‘Touch’.
The Weegie duo of Ian Ferguson and Derek MacDonald were the musical lynchpin of their previous band and now free of the industrial shackles that occasionally held them back, their self-titled number ‘Rainland’ is a stomping synthpop statement, embroiled in a musicality that provides an almost joyous journey through the Grampian Mountains. Ferguson had already proved himself a worthy vocalist on ANALOG ANGEL songs such as ‘No Goodbye’, ‘I Am Me’ and ‘Another Rainy Day’ with a tone not dissimilar to a certain Midge Ure.
This is allowed to rein free on ‘Rainland’, while the ivories of MacDonald stylistically ape the symphonic overtones of ULTRAVOX’s Billy Currie. Synthpop is pop music using synthesizers, not a by-word for fluff. As the cultural commentator Simon Reynolds put it in The Guardian as part of his ‘Synth Britannia’ assessment on the legacy of synthpop in 2009: “Oddly, what’s made this music last are the same things that made The Beatles and Motown immortal: melody and emotion” – ‘Rainland’ possesses both those qualities and this eponymous calling card shows exactly what RAINLAND are capable of.
Meanwhile the neo-ballad ‘Suddenly Winter’ conveys a snow-capped atmosphere that does exactly what it says on the tin while the uptempo ‘The Light Of The Sun’ showcases more of the engaging synthpop songcraft that perhaps hadn’t been able to attain its full potential within ANALOG ANGEL.
‘Touch’ with its digital slapped bass and HI-NRG flavour in a nod to BRONSKI BEAT will surprise ANALOG ANGEL fans, while ‘Silverlight’ featuring lyrics by poet and novelist Ange Chan sonically punches, as sweeps and sequences make their presence felt on this rousing number.
Tom Shear has already recognised RAINLAND’s capabilities and invited Messrs Ferguson and MacDonald for ASSEMBLAGE 23 on their 2017 UK tour. What happens next is now up to them, but expect the pair to allow the music to speak for itself. There certainly won’t be any misguided sojourns into reality television or remixes by eminently, the worst music act in the world today… 😉
RAINLAND play the following 2017 live dates with ASSEMBLAGE 23: Glasgow Ivory Blacks (30th March), Manchester Zoo (31st March), London Electrowerkz (1st April)
When the new millennium began, things were grim for the electronic pop fan…
The mainstream music scene had been infiltrated by the tedium of landfill indie pioneered by the likes of TRAVIS. Meanwhile on the dance front, as great as singles by THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS and LEFTFIELD were, their albums left a lot to be desired, as tracks went on for far too long with minimal song based structures. However, there were new beacons of hope in LADYTRON and GOLDFRAPP, while synthpop was to become the rogue element of rock bands such as THE KILLERS and THE BRAVERY. But before the latter pair emerged, there was THE FAINT.
‘Capsule: 1999-2016’ sees THE FAINT’s catalogue gathered over seventeen songs from five albums, including the excellent 2016 single ‘Young & Realistic’ and two new tracks ‘Skylab1979’ and ‘ESP’. Formed in Omaha, Nebraska by Todd Fink (vocals + keyboards), Clark Baechle (drums) and Joel Petersen (bass), THE FAINT began as a conventional skateboarding rock act named NORMAN BAILER.
After changing their name and signing to Saddle Creek for the debut album ‘Media’, they began taking an interest in using more prominent electronics with the addition of keyboard player Jacob Thiele. The resultant 1999 album ‘Blank Wave Arcade’ featuring ‘Call Call’ and ‘Worked Up So Sexual’ showcased a mix of live drums, punky guitars and squelchy synths in the vein of early ULTRAVOX! and WIRE.
But it wasn’t until 2001’s ‘Danse Macabre’ that THE FAINT really found their sound. While Petersen took to programming bass sequences, one crucial element was the recruitment of a death metal guitarist nicknamed Dapose. In much the same way DURAN DURAN were essentially a synthpop band with a heavy rock guitarist bolted on, this unusual hybrid gave THE FAINT a unique template for the time, sounding like BLUR and Birmingham’s most famous boat crew rolled into one!
The deep attack of ‘Agenda Suicide’ from ‘Danse Macabre’ still stands up and indicative of the parent album’s title, with the second half sounding like Marilyn Manson gone electro. Meanwhile from the same breakthrough long player, ‘Glass Danse’ and ‘The Conductor’ took swirling synths and hard dance rhythms into indie rock territory, while still embracing the imperfections of the analogue machinery associated with Synth Britannia. There was also the delightfully odd swing of ‘Posed To Death’
2004’s ‘Wet From Birth’ album saw orchestrations entering the equation although overall, it was less immediate than its predecessor. But THE FAINT’s spiritual connection with Britain’s new wave and in particular, Some Bizzare came with the superb ‘Southern Belles In London Sing’, a fine interpolation of the now-classic 1981 anti-war song ‘Remembrance Day’ by B-MOVIE, the Nottingham quartet who appeared on the ‘Some Bizzare Album’ alongside SOFT CELL, BLANCMANGE, THE THE and DEPECHE MODE.
The buzzing string embellished groove of ‘Desperate Guys’ from ‘Wet From Birth’ also deserves its place on this collection, but one glaring omission from this period would be the superb ‘Symptom Finger’, a hypnotic ‘Zoo Station’ styled romp.
Leaving ‘Saddle Creek’ in 2008, THE FAINT issued ‘Fasciinatiion’ on their own blank.wave imprint and rather fittingly toured with LADYTRON.
But like many acts at the time, the onset of illegal downloading and reduced demand for physical product saw the band give the CD away on tour with sales of T-shirts. The stuttering electronic funk of ‘The Geeks Were Right’ proved the band still had it, although it would be 2014 before they released another album in ‘Doom Abuse’, represented on ‘Capsule: 1999-2016’ by the appropriately foreboding climes of ‘Damage Control’.
‘Capsule: 1999-2016’ is a good introduction to THE FAINT, with its bias towards the band’s best two albums ‘Danse Macabre’ and ‘Wet From Birth’. While almost destined to remain a cult proposition, THE FAINT deserve recognition for their part in keeping the sound of the synthesizer alive during a period when it had almost been hounded to extinction.
‘Capsule: 1999-2016’ is released by Saddle Creek in CD, double vinyl and digital formats
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covers album.
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With his adopted home surroundings very much the backbone of the EP, the considerably lighter 
sees THE FAINT’s catalogue gathered over seventeen songs from five albums, including the excellent 2016 single ‘Young & Realistic’ and two new tracks ‘Skylab1979’ and ‘ESP’. Formed in Omaha, Nebraska by Todd Fink (vocals + keyboards), Clark Baechle (drums) and Joel Petersen (bass), THE FAINT began as a conventional skateboarding rock act named NORMAN BAILER.
, they began taking an interest in using more prominent electronics with the addition of keyboard player Jacob Thiele. The resultant 1999 album 
featuring ‘Call Call’ and ‘Worked Up So Sexual’ showcased a mix of live drums, punky guitars and squelchy synths in the vein of early ULTRAVOX! and WIRE.
that THE FAINT really found their sound. While Petersen took to programming bass sequences, one crucial element was the recruitment of a death metal guitarist nicknamed Dapose. In much the same way DURAN DURAN were essentially a synthpop band with a heavy rock guitarist bolted on, this unusual hybrid gave THE FAINT a unique template for the time, sounding like BLUR and Birmingham’s most famous boat crew rolled into one!
album saw orchestrations entering the equation although overall, it was less immediate than its predecessor. But THE FAINT’s spiritual connection with Britain’s new wave and in particular, Some Bizzare came with the superb ‘Southern Belles In London Sing’, a fine interpolation of the now-classic 1981 anti-war song ‘Remembrance Day’ by B-MOVIE, the Nottingham quartet who appeared on the ‘Some Bizzare Album’ alongside SOFT CELL, BLANCMANGE, THE THE and DEPECHE MODE.
The buzzing string embellished groove of ‘Desperate Guys’ from ‘Wet From Birth’ also deserves its place on this collection, but one glaring omission from this period would be the superb ‘Symptom Finger’, a hypnotic ‘Zoo Station’ styled romp.
on their own blank.wave imprint and rather fittingly toured with LADYTRON.
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