The Heart Is a Monster

Last updated
The Heart Is a Monster
The Heart Is A Monster.png
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 30, 2015
Recorded2014–2015 at Red Swan Studio & Oasis Mastering Studio One
Genre
Label INgrooves Music Group, Failure Records LLC
Producer Failure
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
Metacritic 78/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
ThePRPStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Consequence of Sound Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Pitchfork 7.8/10 [5]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Alternative Nation 9/10 [7]
AntiHero MagazineStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [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]

Contents

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 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

Personnel

Additional personnel

production

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References

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