Made up of vocalist Todd Fink, drummer Clark Baechle, keyboardist Graham Ulicny, and guitarist and bassist Michael “Dapose” Dappen, the group that ignited an electro-pop-punk movement is back with an 11-track deep-dive into themes on modern society, the internet, and ego - specifically social media and its dark effects.
It’s been four years since The Faint dropped a proper studio album, and more than two decades since they first tore onto the Midwest scene, alongside area staples Cursive and Bright Eyes, with anxious electro-pop-punk anthems that meshed doomsday themes with thudding dance-floor hooks. The group began to construct Egowerk shortly after releasing their 2016 career-spanning record, CAPSULE:1999-2016, with Baechle making frequent trips back to Omaha from his new home in Philadelphia to mix the record. The band made a unanimous decision to self-produce the entire record, making it unique and far more involved than any of their past work.
Despite The Faint’s nihilistic musings on Egowerk, Fink and Baechle remain optimistic that things can improve if society is willing to absorb dueling perspectives. “The more you learn about any issue, any issue at all, the more you understand that it's more complicated than you think,” Fink says. “I'd like to see people less convinced that they're right about everything all the time. I guess I think we'll figure it out as time goes on.”