The Faint bring doom and dance to First Ave. Friday

Once upon a time, The Faint was a straight-up rock band, prone to mid-tempo songs about love, relationships, and personal loss. In its earliest incarnation as Norman Bailer, the Omaha band even touted a lineup that included the shaky-voiced Connor Oberst of Bright Eyes fame. But, after their first album, the members decided to take a stylistic left turn and reinvent themselves as a dancepunk/new wave act, full of synthesizers and cold industrial menace. As dance and indie continue to share a bed, a lovechild like The Faint stands to please fans of either genre.

But, don’t think for a second that the band has cribbed all of its notes from diva-happy house music or shaggy hipster rockers. Instead, the songs gravitate mostly around The Faint's pet subjects of sex, technology, and impending global doom. Sure, the lyrics sheet seems to read like a checklist of headline news nightmares, but there's a white-hot danceability to the music that transcends gloomy forecasts and commands you to move your body. If there's a band that can make grim subjects sound like a raucous electro dance party, this is it. Head down to First Ave and shake it like it's your last night on Earth, because according to The Faint, it just might be.

The Faint w/ The Show is the Rainbow and His Mischief - First Ave Mainroom - Friday, November 14th - $20.00

--Ian Traas