Todd Fink

{{Short description|American singer and songwriter}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2025}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Todd Fink | birth_name = Todd Baechle | origin = Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. | occupation = {{flatlist| * Singer * songwriter * record producer * visual artist }} | instrument = {{flatlist| * Vocals * synthesizer * keyboards }} | years_active = 1995–present | label = {{flatlist| * Saddle Creek * blank.wav * SQE Music * Graveface * Mad Decent }} | spouse = {{marriage|Orenda Fink|2005}} }}

'''Todd Fink''' (born Todd Baechle) is an American singer, songwriter, and visual artist best known as lead vocalist of The Faint. He co-founded the Omaha group in the mid-1990s and first performed with the lineup under the name Norman Bailer. Fink has led the band across seven studio albums, including ''Egowerk'' (2019).<ref name="SC-Ego">{{cite web |title=Egowerk |url=https://saddle-creek.com/products/egowerk |website=Saddle Creek |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref><ref name="SG-2025">{{cite web |title=The Faint Reissues: Todd Fink Interview |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2300265/the-faint-reissues-todd-fink-interview/interviews/qa/ |website=Stereogum |date=March 13, 2025 |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref> Outside the band he releases electronic work with Depressed Buttons and records as Closeness with Orenda Fink. He directs visual design for The Faint, including the artwork for ''Egowerk''.<ref name="BC-Ego">{{cite web |title=Egowerk |url=https://thefaint.bandcamp.com/album/egowerk |website=Bandcamp |publisher=The Faint/Saddle Creek |date=March 15, 2019 |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref>

==Career== ===1995–2004: Formation and early releases=== Fink co-founded The Faint in Omaha with Clark Baechle and an early lineup that performed as Norman Bailer. The band issued ''Media'' (1998) before emphasizing electronics on ''Blank-Wave Arcade'' (1999) and ''Danse Macabre'' (2001).<ref name="SG-2025" /><ref name="SC-BWA">{{cite web |title=Blank-Wave Arcade |url=https://saddle-creek.com/products/blank-wave-arcade |website=Saddle Creek |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref><ref name="SC-Media">{{cite web |title=Media |url=https://saddle-creek.com/products/media |website=Saddle Creek |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref><ref name="SC-Danse">{{cite web |title=Danse Macabre |url=https://saddle-creek.com/products/danse-macabre |website=Saddle Creek |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref> Coverage of the Saddle Creek era credits Fink as the group's primary vocalist and lyricist during the stylistic shift.<ref name="FLOOD-2019">{{cite web |title=The Faint Will Always Be Cut from the Saddle Creek Cloth |url=https://floodmagazine.com/58704/the-faint-will-always-be-cut-from-the-saddle-creek-cloth/ |website=FLOOD Magazine |date=March 13, 2019 |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref>

===2004–2014: National profile=== The Faint issued ''Wet from Birth'' (2004) through Saddle Creek, then self-released ''Fasciinatiion'' (2008) on the band's blank.wav imprint.<ref name="SC-WFB">{{cite web |title=Wet from Birth |url=https://saddle-creek.com/products/wet-from-birth |website=Saddle Creek |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref><ref name="BC-Fasc">{{cite web |title=Fasciinatiion |url=https://thefaint.bandcamp.com/album/fasciinatiion |website=Bandcamp |publisher=The Faint/blank.wav |date=August 5, 2008 |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref> ''Doom Abuse'' arrived in 2014 on SQE Music and later returned to Saddle Creek for a 2024 reissue.<ref name="SC-Doom">{{cite web |title=Doom Abuse |url=https://saddle-creek.com/products/doom-abuse |website=Saddle Creek |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref>

During this span Fink, Clark Baechle, and Jacob Thiele launched the DJ and production project '''Depressed Buttons''' and released the ''QWERTY'' EP on Diplo's Mad Decent label in 2010.<ref name="PF-2010">{{cite web |last=Phillips |first=Amy |title="Ow!" |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/11160-ow |website=Pitchfork |date=November 10, 2010 |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref><ref name="Vice-2011">{{cite web |title=When "Depressed" Means Overstimulated: Q&A with Todd Fink of Depressed Buttons |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/when-depressed-means-overstimulated-qa-with-todd-fink-of-depressed-buttons/ |website=Vice |date=May 2011 |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref>

===2017–present: Closeness and later work=== With Orenda Fink he formed '''Closeness''' and released the six-track EP ''Personality Therapy'' through Graveface in 2017.<ref name="BV-2017">{{cite web |title=Closeness = Todd Fink from The Faint + Orenda Fink from Azure Ray (listen) |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/closeness-todd-fink-from-the-faint-orenda-fink-from-azure-ray-listen/ |website=BrooklynVegan |date=February 6, 2017 |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref><ref name="SG-2017">{{cite web |title=Closeness – "More Romantic" |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1919172/closeness-more-romantic/premiere/ |website=Stereogum |date=January 11, 2017 |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref> The Faint returned with ''Egowerk'' (2019), which features Fink's artwork.<ref name="SC-Ego" /><ref name="BC-Ego" /> In 2024 and 2025 he participated in anniversary reissue projects centered on ''Blank-Wave Arcade'' and ''Wet from Birth''.<ref name="SC-DeluxeBlog">{{cite web |title=The Faint – Blank-Wave Arcade & Wet from Birth Deluxe Editions Announced |url=https://saddle-creek.com/blogs/news/the-faint-blank-wave-arcade-wet-from-birth-deluxe-editions-announced |website=Saddle Creek |date=January 28, 2025 |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref><ref name="BB-2024">{{cite web |title=The Faint: 25 years of Blank-Wave Arcade (Todd Fink interview) |url=https://boingboing.net/2024/10/29/the-faint-25-years-of-blank-wave-arcade-todd-fink-interview.html |website=Boing Boing |date=October 29, 2024 |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref>

===Other activity=== Fink briefly played bass in Commander Venus in the late 1990s during the cycle surrounding the band's second album, a stint noted in label materials.<ref name="Ghostmeat">{{cite web |title=Commander Venus |url=https://www.ghostmeat.com/commandervenus.html |website=Ghostmeat Records |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref> Interviews and profiles cite him as The Faint's creative lead and primary voice when discussing the group's aesthetics and production approach.<ref name="FLOOD-2019" /><ref name="Anthem-2012">{{cite web |title=Q&A with The Faint |url=https://anthemmagazine.com/qa-with-the-faint/ |website=Anthem |date=November 16, 2012 |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref>

==Personal life== Fink married musician Orenda Fink in 2005 and adopted her surname.<ref name="CSM-2015">{{cite web |title=Why some men take their wives' last names |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2015/0609/Zoe-Saldana-Why-some-men-taking-their-wives-last-names |website=The Christian Science Monitor |date=June 9, 2015 |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref>

==Discography== ===With the Faint (studio albums)=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" ! scope="col"|Title ! scope="col"|Year ! scope="col"|Label ! scope="col"|Notes |- ! scope="row"|''Media'' <ref name="SC-Media" /> | 1998 | Saddle Creek (LBJ-21) | Debut album. |- ! scope="row"|''Blank-Wave Arcade'' <ref name="SC-BWA" /> | 1999 | Saddle Creek (LBJ-28) | |- ! scope="row"|''Danse Macabre'' <ref name="SC-Danse" /> | 2001 | Saddle Creek | Original release 2001, multiple reissues including deluxe editions. |- ! scope="row"|''Wet from Birth'' <ref name="SC-WFB" /> | 2004 | Saddle Creek (LBJ-67) | |- ! scope="row"|''Fasciinatiion'' <ref name="BC-Fasc" /> | 2008 | blank.wav | Self-released by the band. |- ! scope="row"|''Doom Abuse'' <ref name="SC-Doom" /> | 2014 | SQE Music | Reissued by Saddle Creek in 2024. |- ! scope="row"|''Egowerk'' <ref name="SC-Ego" /> | 2019 | Saddle Creek (LBJ-279) | |}

===With Closeness=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" ! scope="col"|Title ! scope="col"|Type ! scope="col"|Year ! scope="col"|Label |- ! scope="row"|''Personality Therapy'' | EP | 2017 | Graveface<ref name="BV-2017" /><ref name="SG-2017" /> |}

===With Depressed Buttons=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" ! scope="col"|Title ! scope="col"|Type ! scope="col"|Year ! scope="col"|Label |- ! scope="row"|''QWERTY'' | EP | 2010 | Mad Decent<ref name="PF-2010" /><ref name="Vice-2011" /> |}

==Selected interviews and profiles== * Fink on stylistic influences behind ''Blank-Wave Arcade'' (BrooklynVegan, 2025).<ref>{{cite web |title=The Faint's Todd Fink tells us how The Cure, DEVO, The Normal and more influenced their 1999 album ''Blank-Wave Arcade'' |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/the-faints-todd-fink-tells-us-how-the-cure-devo-the-normal-and-more-influenced-their-1999-album-blank-wave-arcade/ |website=BrooklynVegan |date=March 14, 2025 |access-date=September 26, 2025}}</ref> * Album-cycle interview for ''Egowerk'' (FLOOD, 2019).<ref name="FLOOD-2019" /> * 25-year retrospective interview on ''Blank-Wave Arcade'' (Boing Boing, 2024).<ref name="BB-2024" />

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{Official website|https://www.thefaint.com/}} * {{Allmusic|class=artist|id=mn0000934542}}

Category:American rock singers Category:American male singers Category:American new wave musicians Category:American electronic musicians Category:Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska Category:Living people Category:The Faint members Category:Saddle Creek Records artists Category:Year of birth missing (living people)