Egowerk

Last updated
Egowerk
Studio album by
The Faint
ReleasedMarch 15, 2019
Recorded2018–2019
StudioEnamel (Omaha, Nebraska)
Genre Dance-punk, new wave, post-punk revival
Length46:30
Label Saddle Creek
Producer The Faint (Clark Baechle)
The Faint chronology
Doom Abuse
(2014)		Egowerk
(2019)

Egowerk is the seventh studio album by American band The Faint, released on March 15, 2019, by Saddle Creek Records. [1] [2] The band announced the album on December 7, 2018 with the lead single "Child Asleep". [3] [4] The record was self-produced and recorded/mixed by drummer Clark Baechle at Enamel in Omaha, with mastering by Ted Jensen and Justin Shturtz at Sterling Sound. [5] Egowerk is the first Faint studio album to feature keyboardist Graham Ulicny, who joined the lineup following Jacob Thiele's 2016 departure. [3]

Contents

Background and recording

Saddle Creek announced Egowerk on December 7, 2018, confirming an 11-track album and issuing "Child Asleep" with a video. [3] [4] Band materials describe themes focused on contemporary online life and ego in networked media. [3] According to the album credits, Baechle produced, recorded, and mixed the album at Enamel in Omaha, Nebraska, and the master was completed at Sterling Sound by Ted Jensen and Justin Shturtz. [5] A first-person essay by Baechle framed the LP as the first full-length by the then-current quartet of Todd Fink, Clark Baechle, Dapose, and Graham Ulicny, written after the 2016 compilation CAPSULE:1999–2016. [6]

Composition and themes

Label notes characterize Egowerk as addressing social-media–driven discourse and mediated identity, situated within the band's electronic dance-punk style. [3] AllMusic categorizes the album under Alternative/Indie Rock and New Wave/Post-Punk Revival and lists a total running time of 46:30. [2]

Release and promotion

Egowerk was released March 15, 2019 on LP, CD, and digital formats via Saddle Creek (catalog LBJ-279). [1] [7] Singles and pre-release tracks included "Child Asleep" (December 2018), [4] "Alien Angel" (January 29, 2019), [8] and "Quench the Flame" (March 11, 2019). [9] The track "Young & Realistic" had been released previously in 2016 and appears here in album sequence. [10] [11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 70/100 [12]
Review scores
SourceRating
Pitchfork 6.5/10 review
Exclaim! 7/10 review
Under the Radar6.5/10 review
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg entry

On the review aggregator Metacritic, Egowerk received a score of 70 out of 100 based on four professional reviews. [12] Pitchfork described the record as focused on social media's effects while retaining the group's "urgent physicality". [13] Exclaim! highlighted the band's return to slicker programming and dance-floor orientation, [14] and Under the Radar delivered a mixed-positive assessment noting consistency with the group's early-2000s period. [15]

Track listing

  1. "Child Asleep" – 4:39
  2. "Chameleon Nights" – 3:32
  3. "Life's a Joke" – 4:52
  4. "Alien Angel" – 3:38
  5. "Egowerk" – 4:52
  6. "Own My Eyes" – 3:48
  7. "Source of the Sun" – 4:20
  8. "Another World" – 3:34
  9. "Quench the Flame" – 4:46
  10. "Young & Realistic" – 4:56
  11. "Automaton" – 3:33

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 "Egowerk". Saddle Creek. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Egowerk – The Faint". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Faint – Egowerk (announcement)". Saddle Creek. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 "The Faint Announce New Album, Share New Song: Listen". Pitchfork. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Egowerk". Bandcamp. The Faint/Saddle Creek. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  6. ↑ "Hear First: The Faint's Egowerk". Talkhouse. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  7. ↑ "Egowerk – Release Info (LBJ 279LP)". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  8. ↑ "The Faint Share New Song "Alien Angel" and Announce New Tour Dates". Under the Radar. 29 January 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  9. ↑ "The Faint Share New Song "Quench the Flame"". Under the Radar. 11 March 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  10. ↑ "The Faint – Young and Realistic [Official Music Video]". YouTube. Saddle Creek. 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  11. ↑ "Young & Realistic". YouTube Music. Saddle Creek. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  12. 1 2 "Egowerk by The Faint". Metacritic. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  13. ↑ Rytlewski, Evan (15 March 2019). "The Faint: Egowerk". Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  14. ↑ Blinov, Paul (19 March 2019). "The Faint – Egowerk". Exclaim!. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  15. ↑ Gourlay, Dom (3 April 2019). "The Faint: Egowerk (Saddle Creek)". Under the Radar. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
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