With a name like Doom Abuse, you might expect The Faint’s seventh album to be a heavier or darker affair than previous works. You'd be somewhat correct. They’ve beefed up their synth-punk dance music with more abrasive guitars, though there's enough ‘80s electro-pop flavoring to keep The Faint’s original vision a key focus. What's really intriguing about the band’s sound is the way they bounce easily between the lighter side of the first new wave and the moodier constructs of punk heavyweights like MX-80 and Chrome. “Mental Radio” is all neon pony-hopping moves, while the corrosive keyboards and snaggle-toothed guitars of “Salt My Doom” evokes the bleak din of industrial music. The group continue their lyrical wordplay that examines issues like consumerism and technology, but when tunes like “Help in the Head” and “Scapegoat” spark with white-hot heat from your earbuds, you won’t care if they’re singing about unicorns. After nearly 20 years of lighting fires, The Faint are far from fading; in fact they still carry a formidable torch.