The Heart Is a Monster

The Heart Is a Monster
Studio album by Failure
Released June 30, 2015
Recorded 2014-2015 at Red Swan Studio & Oasis Mastering Studio One
Genre Alternative rock, space rock
Label INgrooves Music Group, Failure Records LLC
Producer Failure
Failure chronology
Tree of Stars
(2014)		 The Heart Is a Monster
(2015)
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

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

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

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

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Failure. 

No. Title Length
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

Personnel

Additional personnel

production

References

  1. 1 2 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. ↑ Review: The PRP
  4. 1 2 Review: Consequence of Sound
  5. 1 2 Reyes-Kulkarni, Saby (July 1, 2015). "Failure - The Heart Is a Monster". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  6. 1 2 Geist, Brandon (June 30, 2015). "Failure's New Album The Heart Is a Monster". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  7. 1 2 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. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200
  14. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/charts/top-album-sales
  15. ↑ Music Chart. "Alternative Music: Top Alternative Album - July 18, 2015". Billboard. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  16. ↑ http://www.metalinsider.net/columns/metal-by-numbers/metal-by-numbers-78-july-burns-red
  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.

External links

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