In the early 2000s, dance-punk was the shit. Just like scene kids with asymmetrical haircuts had their emo heyday, or dirty-Vans wearing Mac DeMarco lookalikes took over the 2010s with surfy garage rock for a bit, dance-punk too had its place at the top. But dance-punk had a quality to it that the others lacked: an animated and pulsating energy that made people want to dance. Every city had countless club nights devoted to music that had both dance beats and guitars, and introverted, tattooed metalheads and record-store-clerk types got just as sweaty on the dance floor as those who frequented DJ sets. Though there were quite a few bands that made people want to furiously stomp to the beat, Omaha, Nebraska’s The Faint found themselves at the top of that list. But sadly, it often feels ...
