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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.

Wet From Birth
by The Faint


8.8

based on 21 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 8 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

Mike Mogis produced this fourth album for the dance-inducing Nebraska indie rockers. Azure Ray's Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor add vocals on several tracks.

LABEL:	Saddle Creek
RELEASE DATE:	14 September 2004
DISCS:	1 disc
GENRE(S):	Indie, Rock, Electronic

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Drowned In Sound

It’s all over the place, yet perfectly fresh and maligned.

Junkmedia

A near perfect record that will have The Rapture,!!!, and every other dance punk band looking over their collective shoulders.

Filter

Where it seemed the individual songs on Danse Macabre filled out and stretched the seams of its pop confines, Wet From Birth proposes a more intricate and ambitious space. [#12, p.93]

Entertainment Weekly

The Faint have grown beyond being the mere genre revivalists they were on 2001's Danse Macabre. [17 Sep 2004, p.76]

Alternative Press

Another strong outing. [Oct 2004, p.148]

Urb

Grabs you from the opening seconds with a best-of-all-worlds combination of gritty, menacing music and witty, hilarious lyrics. [Nov 2004, p.99]

Under The Radar

One of the most commanding and exciting albums you'll hear all year. [#7]

Rolling Stone

Not just a dance-rock band anymore, The Faint unveil a strong song sense with tunes as richly imagined, well-written and arresting as their titles. [14 Oct 2004, p.96]

Mojo

This is well-muscled, heavily mascara'd dance music. [Sep 2004, p.99]

New Musical Express

The Faint continue to ensure that across the pond there's an infinitely sexier state of dance-rock affairs. [11 Sep 2004, p.55]

The New York Times

The Faint is never less than snappy.

Q Magazine

They still sound best when playing fast and loud and are only hampered by the album's terrible title and some bizarre lyrics. [Oct 2004, p.123]

Village Voice

Their tracks are consistently both catchy and punky enough to make your lip sneer.

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Wet From Birth is generally strongest when the beats-per-minute run high... but a few of the slower tracks showcase The Faint's growing way with melody.

Stylus Magazine

Might not be enough to convince disbelievers, but to fans, it’s a gratifying addition to an already impressive repertoire.

Billboard

Where the Faint falls short, though, is its lack of daring; even with the welcome addition of strings (apropos of its cinematic live show) and varying styles, "Wet From Birth" sounds contained and merely likeable.

All Music Guide

Even though Wet from Birth occasionally gets tripped up on its own ambitions, it still has its share of enjoyable tracks.

Blender

Perspiration trumps inspiration, as madly sawing strings and short-circuiting robot bleeps compensate for the lack of hooks. [Oct 2004, p.120]

PopMatters

While uneven, the stronger tracks make this a worthwhile listen.

Pitchfork

Their mistake is in forcing too many ideas into every possible second.

Playlouder

It's a clever, chic and defiantly underground record, alright, but it's guilty of trying too hard when clearly it doesn't need to.

The average user rating for this album is 8.8 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Chris D gave it an8:
I hope Pete B is aware that even if 'the bourgeoisie of all albums' was spelt right AND actually meant something, it would probably be a bad thing, e.g. middle of the road or something. Which this album is not, luckily. I'd say not totally consistent, but mostly a great listen. Paranoiattack is particularly incredible. Kudos!

Pete B gave it a10:
This is a master piece. Cult classic. The Burgiosie of all albums. A MUST record to listen to. If you only ever listen to one ablum ever, this is the one!

Justdarin JD gave it a10:
Amazing! You’ve changed my prospective on music!

Ben D gave it an8:
While I do like the album, I can't help being nervous about the direction that The Faint is heading. Instead of keyborards being the main attraction, the band relies mostly on guitar, strings, and bass to drive most of the songs with the only memorable keyboard part occuring on "Parinoiattack". I can only hope the the band will go back and listen to Blank-Wave Arcade and Danse Macabre and realize how awsome these albums were.

ethan d gave it a 7:
The Faint is succumbing to the popularity of the saddle creek label in compromising their original sound on this disc... it is a good disc, but i fear that their next release will be a disaster if they continue to change their sound.

mike m gave it a 10:
A Masterpiece. Socio-politcal commentary matched with orginal punk-tronica dance core licks...it just cant be beat

Wet From Birth by The Faint

Wet From Birth
by The Faint