98. Failure - Magnified (1994)
Genre: Alternative Rock/ Space Rock
1. Let It Drip
2. Moth
3. Frogs
4. Bernie
5. Magnified
6. Wonderful Life
7. Undone
8. Wet Gravity
9. Empty Friend
10. Small Crimes
Failure... seems like a pretty ****ty name for a band doesn’t it? Especially when it’s a band that I’m sure only a handful of you have ever heard of. If you haven’t heard of them, it’s not your fault; they really came into full at an interesting time in the music industry. Cobain had just given himself an extreme makeover and nobody else was trying particularly hard to sound different. Failure had that rare ability to take elements from various popular artists and infuse it into their music without sounding like they’re ripping them off, but in a way that’s totally noticeable. Sometimes Magnified sounds a little bit like Alice in Chains, sometimes like My Bloody Valentine or hell even Weezer on one of their tracks (“Bernie”).
Failure consisted of two steady members, Ken Andrews and Greg Edwards (whom you’ve already met in my Autolux review) with drummers coming and going, and studio musicians every once in a while. Their first drummer, Robert Gauss, left leaving Edwards to take on both the drums and bass/vocals for much of the recording. Finally a replacement drummer was found (they really are a dime a dozen) and the band was whole again.
Magnified is, in my opinion, their best album out of their three album discography. It blends together so many styles in such a manner that grabs your attention and does not let go. Well crafted with some catchy hooks, good use of soft/hard dynamics, and some quality production that gives it a glossy finish. Lyrics are engaging, not that cryptic but do require more than just 50% of your attention to truly understand what Ken Andrews is attempting to get across.
With all the ‘90’s nostalgia on this forum right now, I figured this was a good time to point out that there were some bands that never got the same limelight as the Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, or Soundgarden, but goddammit they should have! The closest to success Failure had was touring with Tool, which is no small feat, this was at the time when Aniema came out and Tool were hotter than a sinners ass in hell. This is turning more into a rant than a review, so I’m going to end it with this: If you like any of the popular ‘90’s alternative rock/grunge/indie bands then you’ll most likely enjoy Failure. They strike a fine balance between playing off the popularity of others, yet creating a sound unique to them.