The Heart Is a Monster

June 24, 2015 11:24 AM

19 years after releasing underrated space-rock masterpiece Fantastic Planet, Failure have returned with The Heart Is a Monster, due out June 30th and streaming now.
posted by Existential Dread (14 comments total)

Also, killer video from the Failure reunion show in 2014.
posted by Existential Dread at 11:47 AM on June 24, 2015

THIS IS EXCITING. Here's the 1996 Failure album if you've gotten this far without being familiar. Underrated record, totally.
posted by enfa at 11:53 AM on June 24, 2015

They were pretty good at Riot Fest last year, even with a crowd who largely had no idea who the hell they were.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:00 PM on June 24, 2015

Here's their new music video for the single, Hot Traveler.
I find it reminiscent of A Perfect Circle's video for Judith directed by David Fincher.

I am excite.
posted by matt_od at 12:00 PM on June 24, 2015

I only know of them from a Fugazi show I went to in 1993 or 1994. My recollection is that they were pretty hard and not-so-spacey sounding at that time--I never would have had them pegged as becoming a space rock band. I am going to check some of these links out later, sounds interesting, thanks for posting
posted by Hoopo at 12:20 PM on June 24, 2015

They're touring with Hum!!!!!
posted by gucci mane at 1:11 PM on June 24, 2015 [3 favorites]

I only know these guys from a progressive-spacey cover of "Enjoy the Silence" from the Depeche Mode tribute album For the Masses. I used to get them confused with Fuel and Self (who covered "Shame" on that same tribute album).
posted by infinitewindow at 1:12 PM on June 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

I saw these guys play with Tool and The Flaming Lips in '94 I think and I didn't know them at the time and agree with Hoopo that they didn't seem very much like space rock, though I never sought out their albums. Interested to hear Fantastic Planet, though.
posted by camcgee at 1:21 PM on June 24, 2015

I don't think this is really space rock in the Hawkwind sense, but it's really good. I'm sure I heard them back in the day. Thanks for this!
posted by vibrotronica at 1:33 PM on June 24, 2015

They always had this super-heavy low end, lots of power chords played on fuzz bass. Magnified was more straight-ahead heavy rock, but Fantastic Planet had a lot more texture. Both records are great.
posted by Existential Dread at 1:38 PM on June 24, 2015

Thanks for posting this.

I very much miss Secret Machines. I was not aware of Failure. I do believe that Failure will fill that hole very well.
posted by the matching mole at 2:15 PM on June 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

Weirdly, Refused has a new album coming out the exact same day, currently streaming on Pandora Premieres. I......want to like it, but it's not hitting the same buttons as the Shape of Punk to Come.
posted by Existential Dread at 2:37 PM on June 24, 2015 [1 favorite]

Wow! Here's something I never hoped for! Maybe now we'll get a new release from Mandarin, too.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 2:53 PM on June 24, 2015

Wow, this sounds really old! Maybe I can hear a couple tricks they wouldn't have pulled in 1994. . . .
posted by grobstein at 9:19 AM on June 25, 2015