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The Heart Is a Monster

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The Heart Is a Monster
Studio album by
Failure
ReleasedJune 30, 2015
Recorded2014–2015 at Red Swan Studio & Oasis Mastering Studio One
Genre
LabelINgrooves Music Group, Failure Records LLC
ProducerFailure
Failure chronology
Tree of Stars
(2014) 		The Heart Is a Monster
(2015) 		In the Future Your Body Will Be the Furthest Thing from Your Mind
(2018)
Singles from The Heart Is A Monster
  1. "Come Crashing"
    Released: May 14, 2014
  2. "The Focus"
    Released: June 15, 2014
  3. "Hot Traveler"
    Released: March 29, 2015
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
ThePRP[3]
Consequence of Sound[4]
Pitchfork7.8/10[5]
Rolling Stone[6]
Alternative Nation9/10[7]
AntiHero Magazine[8]

The Heart Is a Monster is the fourth studio album by the alternative rock band, Failure. It is the follow-up to 1996's Fantastic Planet. The album was released on June 30, 2015, via INgrooves Music Group's artist services division, INresidence.[9]

Production

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A PledgeMusic campaign was created on January 17, 2015 to fund production of the album.[10] Part of the promotion included the offering of the album Fantastic Planet recorded on vinyl for the second time.[11]

Reception

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According to Metacritic, the album holds a score of 78 indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[1] Alternative Nation states that "The Heart is a Monster is a reckoning force that achieves success as a comeback and a glorious landmark in the evolution in alternative and space rock."[7] Pitchfork noted that the album had "that charge of intellectual stimulation—spiked with an ever-so-subtle creep factor—that makes The Heart Is a Monster such a thrilling ride." They also commented on the segue (instrumental) tracks, stating that "a whole separate album in that style would've been nice, but even in truncated form the interludes cast Philip Glass-ian shades onto the other songs and suggest that Failure's creativity is far from exhausted."[5]

Consequence of Sound offered praise for the remade "Petting The Carpet" and the lead single "Hot Traveler", but stated that "...for an album that’s over an hour long, it’s easy to point out what could be trimmed," citing "Mulholland Dr." and "Fair Light Era" as missteps.[4] Rolling Stone gave 3.5 stars in their review, stating that Failure deserves their following, but "what might've been a Nineties nostalgia trip feels more like history made new".[6] Exclaim.ca stated that the album "doesn't quite leave the impression mid-'90s Failure did, but despite less experimental approach and cleaner digital production, it's still a compelling listen."[12]

Charts

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The Heart Is a Monster debuted July 18, 2015 on the Billboard 200 album chart at #83[13] and at #43 on the Top Album Sales chart,[14] which excludes on-demand streaming or individually sold tracks. The album debuted at #11 in Alternative Albums, making it the highest debut of Failure's history.[15] The album reportedly sold 7,250 copies in the U.S. in its first week.[16]

Other

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  • Two music videos were officially produced:
    • "Hot Traveler", which shows Failure performing in a warehouse inside a camera dolly track.[17]
    • "Counterfeit Sky", which is a video of the song over a cut of the short film "Grounded"[18] by Kevin Margo (Thor: The Dark World).[19]
  • "Petting The Carpet" originally appeared on the compilation album "Golden" as an out-take for Comfort. (original length 3:39)
  • "Come Crashing" was part of the Tree of Stars EP – the first song written for the album, and the first new Failure track recorded since the Fantastic Planet album sessions.
  • "I Can See Houses" was played live in 1991 but was never recorded in the studio; the live version can be seen on the DVD side of Golden.
  • An alternate recording of "The Focus" was released as a single during the PledgeMusic campaign (original length 3:18) and later reworked for the album.[20]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Failure

No.TitleLength
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 Dr."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

Credits

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Personnel

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  • Ken Andrews – lead vocals, guitar, bass, programming
  • Greg Edwards – guitar, bass, keyboards, backing vocals
  • Kellii Scott – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

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production

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  • All songs written by K. Andrews and G. Edwards
  • Mixing by Ken Andrews
  • Mastering by Gene Grimaldi
  • Published by Quinine Music (BMI) and Vicus Music (BMI)
  • Recorded, mixed, and mastered at Red Swan Studios, Los Angeles, CA, and Oasis Management Studio One, Burbank, CA.

References

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  1. ^ a b Reviews Aggregator. "Reviews for The Heart is a Monster". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  2. ^ Monger, James Christopher. Review: The Heart is a Monster. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2015-07-03.
  3. ^ "Failure – The Heart Is A Monster – Theprp.com – Metal And Hardcore News Plus Reviews And More". 23 June 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Album Review: Failure – The Heart Is a Monster". 22 June 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  5. ^ a b Reyes-Kulkarni, Saby (July 1, 2015). "Failure – The Heart Is a Monster". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  6. ^ a b Geist, Brandon (June 30, 2015). "Failure's New Album The Heart Is a Monster". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  7. ^ a b Rowe, Riley (June 17, 2015). "Review: Failure's Comeback Album 'The Heart Is A Monster'". Alternative Nation. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  8. ^ Kussmaul, Jake (9 August 2015). "Album Review: FAILURE – The Heart Is A Monster". antiheromagazine.com. AntiHero Magazine.
  9. ^ Press Release. "FAILURE SET JUNE 30 RELEASE FOR THE HEART IS A MONSTER". InGrooves Music Group. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  10. ^ Social Network Account. "The New Album: Failure". PledgeMusic. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  11. ^ Social Network Account. "FAILURE – Fantastic Planet on VINYL!". PledgeMusic. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  12. ^ Sookraj, Lisa. "Failure The Heart is a Monster". Exclaim.ca. Exclaim. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  13. ^ "Top 200 Albums – Billboard". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  14. ^ "Top Album Sales : Page 1 – Billboard". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  15. ^ Music Chart. "Alternative Music: Top Alternative Album – July 18, 2015". Billboard. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  16. ^ "Metal By Numbers 7/8: July burns redMetal Insider". 8 July 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  17. ^ Band Account, FailureVEVO. "Failure – Hot Traveler". VEVO/YouTube. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  18. ^ Margo, Kevin. "Grounded". Vimeo. Vimeo. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  19. ^ FailureVEVO. "Failure – Counterfeit Sky". YouTube. Failure Records. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  20. ^ Music service. "The Focus Failure". bandcamp. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
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