CAPSULE:1999-2016 is a retrospective collection that represents a golden era for The Faint. The album includes 16 of their most beloved songs from five albums and is an excellent primer for new fans or a classic collection for those who’ve been nodding along since the Blank-Wave Arcade days. Noisey is running an exclusive premiere of “Skylab1979,” one of two new tracks appearing on the album in addition to the recently released “Young & Realistic.”

The Omaha-based band had been kicking around for four years prior to that period, but had a hard time hitting their stride. “We didn’t make anything we really liked until 1999,” frontman Todd Fink laughs. The Faint released some initial material that fit in with the times-reminiscent of the post-punk sounds of Fugazi and other Dischord Records bands-but wasn’t anything spectacular, lacking the distinct personality that would eventually come to define them.

It was in writing “Worked Up So Sexual,” the hit single from 1999’s Blank-Wave Arcade, that the band struck their jackpot moment. They discovered an entirely original fusion of synth sounds over a blaring rock background, one that was as catchy as it was danceable. Just like that, the Faint captured lightning in a bottle.

CAPSULE:1999-2016 serves to bookend this remarkable 17-year period for the Omaha vets, a time which saw them as imitable pioneers of electro-punk. In addition to highlighting songs from five of The Faint’s most popular albums, CAPSULE:1999-2016 features three new songs. The recently released single, “Young & Realistic,” and two bonus unreleased songs: “Skylab1979” and “ESP,” all of which feature latest member Graham Ulicny (Reptar) on synth duties. The new songs give a glimpse of what’s to come for The Faint, as they embark on a new chapter in their long, influential career.