Wet from Birth

Wet from Birth is the fourth studio album by the American band The Faint, released on September 14, 2004 by Saddle Creek Records.^[2] The United States release uses HDCD encoding, but the package is not labeled as HDCD.^[7] It received generally favorable reviews, earning a Metacritic score of 72 out of 100.^[1] A twentieth anniversary deluxe edition with additional demos and remixes was released on March 14, 2025.^[8]

Wet from Birth
Studio album by The Faint
Released	September 14, 2004
Recorded	Presto! Recording Studios, The Orifice
Length	34:24
Label	Saddle Creek
Producer	Mike Mogis, The Faint
The Faint chronology
Danse Macabre Remixes (2003) Wet from Birth (2004) Fasciinatiion (2008)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	72/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Pitchfork Media	5.5/10[3]
Playlouder	[4]
PopMatters	(favorable)[5]
Stylus Magazine	B−[6]

Track listing

Original release

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Desperate Guys"	3:06
2.	"How Could I Forget?"	3:17
3.	"I Disappear"	4:07
4.	"Southern Belles in London Sing"	3:31
5.	"Erection"	2:45
6.	"Paranoiattack"	4:16
7.	"Dropkick the Punks"	2:28
8.	"Phone Call"	4:03
9.	"Symptom Finger"	3:27
10.	"Birth"	3:17

Deluxe edition

The twentieth anniversary deluxe reissue was released on March 14, 2025 and collects the remastered album along with archive recordings and remixes.^[8]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Desperate Guys"	3:06
2.	"How Could I Forget?"	3:17
3.	"I Disappear"	4:11
4.	"Southern Belles in London Sing"	3:27
5.	"Erection"	2:45
6.	"Paranoiattack"	4:16
7.	"Dropkick the Punks"	2:28
8.	"Phone Call"	4:03
9.	"Symptom Finger"	3:28
10.	"Birth"	3:12
11.	"Zealots (Unrealized)"	3:21
12.	"Mister (Unrealized)"	2:42
13.	"Birth (Thailand Demo)"	3:06
14.	"Desperate Guys (Demo)"	3:01
15.	"Symptom Finger (Demo)"	4:12
16.	"Paranoiattack (Demo)"	4:15
17.	"Hypnotised"	2:49
18.	"I Disappear (FC Kahuna Remix)"	6:04

In popular culture

• The instrumental bridge from "How Could I Forget?" is used during a chase scene in the pilot episode of the short-lived NBC drama, The Black Donnellys.
• The song "I Disappear" is featured in the video games SSX On Tour and Tony Hawk's American Wasteland.
• The song "Birth" is featured in the part of Steve Berra, in the skateboarding video Skate More, by DVS.
• The violin solo at the beginning of "Desperate Guys" is the introduction to Niccolò Paganini's Caprice No. 5.
• Desperate Guys was also featured in the 2012 Rock & Republic commercial.
• The song "Dropkick the Punks" appears in EA's 2007 racing game Need for Speed: ProStreet.
• The song "Symptom Finger" appears in Billabong's 'Still Filthy' film.