Style: EBM, electronic
Primary Emotions/Themes: Failure, loss, sorrow
Thoughts: I've owned this album in one form or another since shortly after it's release. For a while in the early 2000's I got really into EBM (electronic body music) and Assemblage 23 was mentioned several times as one of the better recent entries into the genre.
I was doubly intrigued by this album because it was dedicated to Tim Shear's dad who had recently passed away. It's been a repeated observation of mine that music created from a deep and profound sense of loss ends up becoming the artists best work.
When I first picked up Failure, I was pretty disappointment. The music sounded flat and the vocals were one dimensional. I wasn't sure where the hype was coming from, even after several listens. I put it back into it's case and didn't listen again for decades.
Fast forward to last year. Failure had a repress and it peaked my curiosity. I hadn't heard the album since it came out, maybe it would be something interesting to check out. I pulled the album up on the nearest streaming service and... well... was this the same album that I listened to 20 years ago?
Failure is an excellent example of early 2000's EBM. The songs are driving, the vocals are filled with passion and longing. The melodies and samples used are structured in unique ways that make me want to listen to the album multiple times in a row. The beats are intricate and with a wide variety of tempos. More importantly the songs know how long they need to be as to not overstay their welcome.
Songs like House on Fire are around the 160 bpm mark that are fantastic to drive at night to. This song in particular layers different electronic samples/instruments to create a sense of urgency that I never heard on my first few listens. Maybe my tastes have changed in twenty years, but this song kicks all sorts of ass.
This is followed up by the odd intro of Tired. It seems to use real drums and has an off structure compared to the four on the floor drumming used so far. The melody phases in and out as the song gets going. It's a strange start but things quickly begin to build momentum as an orchestral sample takes on the melody role. Once the vocals come in everything has fallen into place and all the strangeness that the song started with makes sense.
Failure is a fascinating album. All of the songs have a deep and profound sense of loss to them; the exact thing I was looking for when I first picked up the album. I don't know how I missed it. As a bonus all of the songs have an underlying darkness and cynicism to them. The lyrical themes mixed with the murky undertones of the music elevate the album to heights I never saw in the past. It took me 20 years, but damn Failure is anything but in execution.
Written January 29th 2024
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