Alternative Rock from Faint on Call

Based between San Francisco, Boston and Mexico, Faint on Call is an exciting new supergroup featuring musicians Tobias Hawkins, Cristian Hernandez and Arthur McConnell who were previously part of the line ups of Counting Crows, Onesidezero and Laundry.

During the lockdowns, the founding members of the band undertook songwriting exercises, challenging each other’s compositional skills by sending demos and ideas to each other over email, with vocalist Tobias offering, “I got a text one evening from my old pal Art, a drummer, asking if I would be willing to record some vocals on a track one of his friends had created. All I had to do was download an app onto my iPhone and join in the fun. I was frustrated with the shelter-in-place policy we were living in, because of the pandemic. It had meant the end of live performances and the end of work for me as a musician. So, I went with it, excited I would be making music again even if it was online.”

After exchanging ideas and collaborating on new material, their instant sonic chemistry led them to forming the new outfit known as Faint on Call. In October, they unveiled their sound to the world with their well-received debut single “Pearl” produced by Tool and Taylor Hawkins engineer Sylvia Massy.

Now they bring us the follow up to their stellar introductory outing with their sophomore single titled “Harpoon”. Once again linking up with Sylvia Massy, who’s also producing the band’s first full-length record in Mexico, with their second effort Faint on Call lay down a grooving alternative rock sound packed full of pounding percussion, gritty guitar riffs and a commanding vocal performance.

Instilled with the swaggering energy of 90s rock, with “Harpoon” the thrilling new act showcase their musicianship prowess as well as their accomplished songwriting panache. Closing their first year with another storming and memorable track, 2023 looks exciting for the band as they put the finishing touches on their debut album.

Commenting on the new single, lead singer Tobias offers, “Harpoon’s lyrics were based on a great book I read recently, The Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick. The first verse riff of arpeggios inspired the lyrics quickly – “take her by the wheel, feel her spokes of ten, so smooth to the palm” referring to the wheel of the ship’s smoothness and its massive power.”

Adding, “The song is about a terminally ill sea captain who doesn’t have much time left. He decides to take himself out on one final sea voyage to die, inspired by the Viking tradition of a deceased body being set in a boat, lit on fire and cast out to sea in a blaze of glory. He is tanked up on pain meds and his journey becomes hallucinatory. As he begins to fade, in his mind he has harpooned the sunshine and is being pulled into blissful light.”

Listen to Harpoon below

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