Failure | Artist
Failure is an American alternative rock band formed 1990 in Los Angeles, by Ken Andrews (guitar, bass, vocals, keyboards), Greg Edwards (bass, guitar, piano, keyboards, drums, vocals), and Robert Gauss (drums). Kelli Scott replaced Gauss on drums in 1993, and Troy Van Leeuwen joined on guitar briefly before the band returned to a trio format. Van Leeuwen then joined Queens of the Stone Age. Failure rose to rock royalty alongside contemporaries like Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Stone Temple Pilots, but employed a more textural sound that merged the exploratory guitar tones and production elements of space rock with the sinewy grunge trappings of the era. The group's deft songwriting and sparse yet riff-heavy and cinematic musical arrangements were lauded with near-universal critical praise upon the release of their second and third studio albums, Magnified (1994) and Fantastic Planet (1996). The founding force and creative core of Failure consisted of multi-instrumentalists Ken Andrews and Greg Edwards. The two constantly switched guitar and bass duties in the studio while Andrews took lead vocal duties on the group's recordings, Edwards has been credited with most of Failure's lyrics. When the group performed live, Edwards played bass while Andrews managed most guitar duties, but in the studio they were interchangeable, with Edwards adding keyboard work and even some drumming. Musically, the band has been described as everything from alternative rock, art rock, space rock, post-grunge and alternative metal. Failure has cited a plethora of different bands as influences, including Sonic Youth, the Pixies, Big Star, the Cars, the Police, Miles Davis, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Killing Joke, Radiohead, Japan, Rush, Peter Gabriel, David Bowie, George Michael, Kate Bush, the Beatles, Pink Floyd, and the Cure. Over nearly three decades, the band has only released seven full length studio albums. Standouts include Magnified (1994), Fantastic Planet (1996), In the Future Your Body Will Be the Furthest Thing From Your Mind (201), and Wild Type Droid (2021). Also recommended is Fantastic Planet Live from 2017. Outside their core band duties the members have a number of active projects. Ken Andrews has release one solo album plus releases under the pseudonym ON. He is also in The Digital Noise Academy, Replicants (with Greg Edwards), and Year of the Rabbit. Greg Edwards is in Replicants, Autolux, and Lusk. The band chose their name to reflect their dark, self-deprecating sense of humor rather than adopting it from a specific book or event.
Artist Website: failureband.com
Featured Albums: Failure
Related Artists: Ken Andrews, Greg Edwards