Ken Andrews: Lead Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Programming
Greg Edwards: Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
Kellii Scott: Drums, Percussion
Produced by Failure
Produced by Failure
Tracklist:
1. Segue 4 – 1:07
2. Hot Traveler – 4:51
3. A.M. Amnesia – 4:50
4. Snow Angel – 3:32
5. Atom City Queen – 3:57
6. Segue 5 – 1:21
7. Counterfeit Sky – 4:46
8. Petting the Carpet – 4:49
9. Mulholland Drive – 4:32
10. Fair Light Era – 3:08
11. Segue 6 – 1:14
12. Come Crashing – 4:01
13. Segue 7 – 1:08
14. The Focus – 3:35
15. Otherwhere – 3:22
16. Segue 8 – 1:59
17. I Can See Houses – 6:33
18. Segue 9 – 4:07
Total Runtime: 1:02:52
Do you remember 19 years ago? Probably not. I wasn't even alive 19 years ago. Well, The Heart is a Monster is Failure's long-awaited follow-up to 1996's Fantastic Planet, released 19 years later, in 2015. Most bands don't even last that long, forget get back together and actually release new material after that amount of time.
The Heart is a Monster opens with our first of several instrumental interludes ("segues", pronounced like Segway), "Segue 4", continuing the numbering from Fantastic Planet. In sharp contrast to Fantastic Planet, though, The Heart is a Monster has 6 segues, whereas Fantastic Planet only had 3. "Segue 4" is a spacey lead-in for "Hot Traveler", and does its job. Speaking of that, "Hot Traveler" has some really cool guitar at the start. And throughout. This was. The first actual song I'd heard by Failure. This is definitely a great song to start on. "Hot Traveler" definitely gives the rest of the album some solid footing. Next is "A.M. Amnesia", which, with its soaring vocals (for Andrews, anyway) and continued amazing guitar, is definitely a great follower for "Hot Traveler".
"Snow Angel" slows things down a bit, and lays out a solid tune.
I've been waiting for this one. "Atom City Queen" is freaking amazing. The opening guitar is epic. Friggin' excellent. The best part is when Andrews sings along with it. It's freakin' magical. We leave "Atom City" via "Segue 5", which sounds nice and does a good job connecting "Atom City" and "Counterfeit Sky". "Counterfeit Sky" is another atmosphere-heavy tune, with swelling guitar and booming bass kicks. "Petting the Carpet" is a nice song which leads to the ethereal "Mulholland Drive", with very atmospheric instrumentalism. "Fair Light Era" is also really good with the atmosphere, though it slightly misses its mark, but is great nonetheless. "Segue 6" gives off some feeling of isolation, and then a synth comes in to give you some company again.
"Come Crashing" is another ethereal number, like "Mulholland Drive", but not as slow. "Segue 7" breaks out the acoustic guitar and some keys, which sound perfect together.
"The Focus" and "Otherwhere" bring back the attention-demanding guitar and overall sound. "The Focus" keeps to the heavy side, and "Otherwhere" returns the spacey guitar riffs. "Segue 8" just brings out the feeling of space and feeling larger than life, a perfect intro to our closer, "I Can See Houses", which, I have to admit, isn't a very good closer. "I Can See Houses" is kinda boring, and drags on after a while. Afterwards, "Segue 9" descends the album into its twilight, and we end here.
Overall, The Heart is a Monster is an amazing album, even if it has its flaws. Failure are a very talented band and I look forward to what comes next.
Segue 4: 8/10
Hot Traveler: 10/10
A.M. Amnesia: 9/10
Snow Angel: 7/10
Atom City Queen: 10/10
Segue 5: 7/10
Counterfeit Sky: 8/10
Petting the Carpet: 8/10
Mulholland Drive: 8/10
Fair Light Era: 7/10
Segue 6: 7/10
Come Crashing: 8/10
Segue 7: 8/10
The Focus: 9/10
Otherwhere: 9/10
Segue 8: 8/10
I Can See Houses: 5/10
Segue 9: 7/10
Subtotal: 143/180
Bonus Points:
A+ Guitar Work: +2
Quantity & Quality!: +2
Total: 147/180
Score: 8.2 Excellent
Genres: Alternative Rock, Space Rock
Next Failure Review: Fantastic Planet
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